Willow - Hetalia Version
by VivaAmerica
Summary: Charged with protecting a baby from an evil sorcerer king, Arthur Kirkland is forced to go on a quest with a rogue, two brownies and a squirrel. Oh joy. Hetalia version of the 1988 movie Willow. Rated T for swears and violence.
1. The Marked One

**Also Titled: A Rather Depressing Beginning  
**

* * *

_It is a time of dread…_

_Seers have foretold the birth of a child who will bring about the downfall of the powerful King Ivan. Seizing all the pregnant women in the realm, the wicked sorcerer king vows to destroy the child when it is born…_

It was murky in the dungeons of Ivan's castle and the thin wail of a newborn child could be heard echoing off the walls. In a small cell, a woman watched apprehensively as Natalia, Ivan's younger sister, inspected her baby.

Outside of the cell, a young man with chin-length, choppy blonde hair and mint-green eyes walked by with a basket of laundry, but was forced to pause because several guards were blocking his path. The young man glanced inside the cell disinterestedly.

"It's a girl…" Natalia muttered in her thick accent. She ignored its cries and ran her eyes over it, checking to see if… there! On her arm! A dark pink birthmark showed clearly against her pale skin. This was the child, the child that bore the mark! She thrust the babe back into her mother's arms and hurried out of the cell. One of Ivan's mages met her.

"The omen is true!" she whispered. "I must tell my big brother." She hurried off, the guards and mages following her. There was no way the woman would be able to leave, not in her condition.

The mother wailed and clutched at her child. She caught sight of the young man still standing in the corridor. She reached out one desperate hand to him.

"Please help me!"

The man flinched and looked behind his shoulder. Was she really talking to him? "I… I cannot," he mumbled.

"Please! They're going to kill her!"

The man took a step inside the cell and peered at the helpless infant. What could he possibly do? If he took her, he'd have to run away, far away, far from Ivan and his evil, all while caring for the infant. But… he couldn't just let her die. And if this child could really put an end to Ivan's reign… He set down his basket and pulled out some clothes. He wordlessly held out his arms for the baby and the mother, guessing his intent, smiled gratefully and gave her to him.

"Oh, thank you! Thank you!" He placed the baby inside the basket and covered her with a few cloths before picking it up and hurrying out the door.

"Wait! Please, tell me your name," the mother called.

The man paused. "Vash. Vash Zwingli." The mother watched him leave, this time crying tears of relief.

Vash was very careful; he checked both ends of every hallway before moving and he never paused nor tarried.

Suddenly a loud voice called, "Stand aside for King Ivan!"

Vash stepped to the side and bowed low, praying the baby wouldn't cry. Ivan, a giant of a man with silvery blond hair and eerie purple eyes, barely glanced at him before sweeping past him to the cell. Vash waited until they had safely passed before bolting. He shuddered as he passed one cell that held Ivan's foul hunting dogs. They were huge beasts that grew higher than a grown man's waist and had a distinctive ruff of thick matted fur on their otherwise bare bodies.

Finally, he reached the courtyard and, after bowing to the sentries at the gate, left Ivan's castle for the last time.

Back in the cell, the mother clutched a bundle to her chest and glared defiantly at Ivan as he entered. "You cannot stop the prophecy!" she yelled.

Ivan merely smiled. "This child will have no power over me." He turned to one of his mages. "Start the ritual." He grabbed at the bundle and, after a moment, threw it to the ground. Now everyone could see that it was only a pile of rags.

"Where's the baby?" he hissed. Natalia suddenly remembered the laundry boy.

"There was a man! He–"

"Find that baby, Natalia," Ivan commanded. "Use the dogs. Bring her back to me _alive_!" He shoved her out of the cell.

"Your reign of terror is at an end!" the mother yelled. "She will come back and she will finish you! My baby will finish you!"

Ivan walked out of the cell. "Kill her," he told one of the guards.

* * *

Vash was surprisingly good at hiding from Ivan's dogs. He knew the mountains around the castle well; he'd grown up in them his whole life. He found food for himself in the forest and traded game for milk to feed the baby. Several months went by, in which the girl grew a crop of blonde hair and her dark blue eyes turned light green. Vash grew very fond of her; he even bought a blue ribbon in a village for her hair. As they got farther from Ivan and the mountains and into the warm southern forests, Vash's worries about being captured grew lighter. But that unfortunately lead to complacency…

It was as he was sitting by the fire and preparing breakfast that he heard it. Two sharp barks that seemed to linger in the air. Far-off howling answered it. Ivan's dogs. The baby looked at Vash curiously as he scrambled to put out the fire and grab her. He sprinted through the forest, stopping every few minutes to listen for the dogs. There was no doubt about it; they were getting closer. He wouldn't be able to escape, but there had to some way to protect the baby.

He caught a glimpse of a river through the trees and an idea struck him. He ran towards it and looked along the riverbank carefully. He found a mat of reeds, grass, and sticks and pushed at them until they loosened and floated on the water. The baby whimpered as he laid her on the mat and pushed it out into the river. The dogs were so close now.

The last the baby ever saw of her first protector was him waving his arms to get the dogs' attention and falling as the first one struck. Then a bend in the river carried her away.

* * *

**Welp, here it is, the story I've been working on and hinting at for a few months. Like the title says, this is the Hetalia version of the movie _Willow_ so disclaimer, disclaimer, blah de blah. I am neither George Lucas or Hidekazu Himaruya. Obviously. And no, I'm not gonna put a disclaimer every chapter. That's stupid.  
**


	2. The Daikini Baby

**Also Titled: Arthur Freaks Out**

* * *

The river became wider and very calm as it wove through the forest valley. Soon the baby was in a land few of her kind had ever seen. After a few hours, she was deposited by the riverbank and she looked around curiously. A bird caught her attention for a few seconds, but a rustling of leaves made her look at the bank… where two tiny children were watching her. They were Nelwyns, also called little folk or small ones by others. There was a boy with blonde hair, blue eyes, and bushy brows; the girl next to him had black hair and brown eyes. The boy left the girl by the baby and ran out of the trees to the small field where his father was planting crops.

"Dada, Dada!" he called as he got closer. Their father, a small Nelwyn named Arthur, had messy blonde hair and green eyes. He pulled the pig he was using to till his small field to a stop. The boy tugged on his father's hand. "Dada, we found something in the river!"

"I can't run off and play with you now, Peter, I've got work to do," his father explained.

Peter looked at him pleadingly. "You've gotta come! Hurry!"

Arthur looked at the field once before giving in. He chuckled. "All right, come on."

Peter led him back to the bank where the baby and his sister were waiting. He pulled the kids back in fright when he saw it. "Don't go near it; we don't know where it's been."

"But Dada, it's a baby," the girl, Michelle, said.

"It's not like us," Peter said. It was obvious to tell that, while the baby was small for her kind, she was rather large to be a Nelwyn babe.

Arthur nodded in agreement. "It's not a Nelwyn. It looks like a Daikini baby."

"What's a Daikini?"

"Daikinis are big. Giants who live far away." The baby gurgled and grinned at the Nelwyns.

"Aw! She's so cute," Michelle cooed.

Peter turned to his father excitedly and asked, "Dada, can we keep it?"

Arthur recoiled. "No! …We'll push it downstream and forget we ever saw it. Come on." The baby whimpered, almost as if she could understand what they were saying, and Arthur paused. Arthur wasn't cruel or unfeeling; he'd just been under a lot of stress lately because of-

"Kirkland! Arthur Kirkland!" a voice called in the distance. Speak of the devil.

Arthur hushed his children. "It's Sadiq. That's all I need..." He looked at the baby again. "Keep it quiet- and don't touch." The children nodded, and Arthur ran back to his field. He got to his pig just in time to see Sadiq walk up, followed by Arthur's wife, Francine. She was a pretty Nelwyn with curly brown hair and indigo eyes, though right now she looked more angry than pretty; with hands akimbo she addressed the older man.

"Mr. Adnan, my husband hasn't stolen anything!"

Sadiq waved her off and shoved one of his hands into Arthur's face; it was full of seeds.

"Kirkland, you still haven't paid your debts to me! Where did you get these seeds?" he demanded. Arthur gritted his teeth. Oh, how he hated being under that man's thumb!

"Well, maybe I used magic," he bluffed.

Sadiq snickered. "You're no sorcerer Kirkland, you're a clown." His face grew hard and he threw the seeds onto the ground. "_I _sell the planting seeds around here. Now tell me where you got them!"

Arthur pulled Francine to his side and said truthfully, "My family's been gathering them in the forest since last fall. There's no law against that, now is there?" Francine nodded proudly. A loud laugh from the riverbank caught her attention.

"Arthur! Did you leave them alone by the river?" She hurried off and left her husband to deal with Sadiq. Sadiq leaned on his cane looked at Arthur jeeringly.

"Magic? You'll need magic if you expect to get your planting done before the rains start." He shoved Arthur in the chest and continued: "I will have this land, Kirkland. And _you _will end up working in the mines." He turned and walked away.

Arthur straightened out his shirt before sprinting back to the riverbank. His eyes practically popped out of his head when he saw Francine holding the Daikini baby.

"Francine!"

"Oh, Arthur," she said with a laugh. Peter and Michelle peered over her shoulders at the baby and giggled. As Francine stood up and started walking slowly back to their house, Arthur decided it was time to put his foot down:

"Absolutely, under no condition whatsoever, is anyone in this family allowed to fall in love with that baby!"

Francine ignored him and the children trailed behind her. Arthur watched their retreating figures.

"I will not be ignored!"

He was still ignored.

"Michelle? Peter?" With a groan, he followed them, kicking at ferns as he went. He had a bad feeling this day was going to get even stranger.

* * *

When Arthur finally got inside his small home, Francine was already washing up the baby in the tub. "You're going to be all clean," she cooed as she gently scrubbed at the girl's soft skin with a cloth. She frowned when she noticed a strange mark on the baby's arm. Was it a birthmark? A burn? "Arthur, do you think we should take her to the village council?"

Arthur threw up his hands in despair. "No. They'll think it's a bad omen." He walked around the room gesturing wildly. "There'll be a flood or a drought and everyone will blame me for it. 'Arthur Kirkland brought that Daikini didn't he?' 'That's right he's that lousy farmer too, let's get him!'"

Francine laughed, "Arthur! Calm down, cher."

"Calm down?!" Arthur looked at her incredulously. "Francine, tomorrow's my big day."

Shaking her head, Francine reminded, "Cher, the High Aldwin hasn't picked a new apprentice in years."

"Tomorrow's going to be different; I just _know _he's going to pick me." Arthur knew that most people thought he was useless with magic, but he also knew he had potential, and he hoped that the High Aldwin, the village's sorcerer, would see it too.

Francine finished bathing the baby and wrapped her in a towel. The baby began crying and Francine held her out to Arthur.

"Here."

Arthur backed away quickly. "Hey, no. I don't want her, Francine."

The baby cried louder and Francine forced him to hold her. "Let me just get some milk."

Arthur grumbled as she walked away and bounced the baby gently. He looked down in surprise when the baby abruptly stopped crying and squealed in delight. Peter grinned and said, "Dada she likes you!" Arthur looked down at the baby…she really was cute. She smiled at him and Arthur felt himself smiling in return, despite his misgivings.

* * *

**Yay, we get to meet that main character! If you're confused as to what Nelwyns are just think of less hairy Hobbits who still have the ability to find macguffins. **

**I think I'll be posting a chapter every Wednesday. I dunno, it depends on how much people review and how motivated I am to write since SCHOOL starts in two hours. That's right, I got up an hour earlier than I needed to just for you (XD Actually I'm just an early bird... and a night owl... noon isn't a good time to try and have a conversation with me).  
**


	3. The Death Dog

**Also Titled: Best. Festival. EVER.**

* * *

The next day Arthur, Peter, and Michelle waved goodbye to Francine and the baby as they made their way to the village festival. Lively music was playing and Nelwyns crowded around booths and inspected livestock. Arthur set up a platform and began showing off magic tricks while Peter and Michelle ran around, looking at different performers and participating in the games.

Everything was going well for Arthur until he came to his final trick. He held up a piglet: "I will now make this entire pig disappear!"

He ignored the skeptical groans and covered the pig with a cloth. He muttered some words and threw the blanket aside, revealing that the pig was gone. The crowd gasped and muttered, but Sadiq, who'd been watching, wasn't convinced. He kicked the platform and the piglet ran out, squealing, from under it and into the crowd. Everyone laughed jeeringly as they realized Arthur's trick had been just that: a trick.

"I've seen enough," Sadiq said to his friends as the crowd dispersed. Arthur sat down with a sigh, but was soon up on his feet when a fanfare sounded.

Four Nelwyns entered the clearing holding up a chair. In the chair sat the High Aldwyn. He was an old Nelwyn, the oldest in the village, with a long white beard and wise, piercing eyes. The Nelwyns set down the chair on another, higher platform, and a Nelwyn banged his staff down and yelled, "Attention! The High Aldwyn will now make his choice for his new apprentice. Will the hopefuls please come forward."

Arthur gulped nervously and his friend, a blond named Tino, patted his shoulder.

"You'll be alright," he encouraged.

Peter ran up and hugged him around the waist. "Good luck Dada."

Arthur detached himself and began climbing the stairs to the High Aldwyn.

Sadiq saw him and yelled loudly, "Arthur Kirkland, a hopeful? How'd he get picked? Is this a joke?" He and his friends guffawed and Arthur felt his face get hot with anger and embarrassment. He quickly took his place beside the two other hopefuls and the High Aldwyn stood up slowly and leaned against his staff for support. Everyone listened closely as he began speaking.

"Magic is the bloodstream of the universe! Forget all you know…or think you know." He looked sharply at the three hopefuls. "All that you require is your intuition." He held up his hand and instructed, "Now, the power to control the world is in which finger?" He wiggled his fingers and approached the first hopeful.

The man pondered for a second before pointing to his middle finger. The High Aldwyn lowered it and shook his head. He moved on to the next man, who pointed to his index finger. The High Aldwyn once again shook his head and moved on to Arthur. For a fleeting moment, Arthur felt he should hold up his _own_ finger, but he shoved the ridiculous thought out of his mind. Tentatively, he pointed to his ring finger. The High Aldwyn paused for a brief instant before shaking his head and turning his back on them. "No apprentice this year!" The crowd groaned and Arthur hung his head. The music resumed and he slowly walked down the steps to Tino and Peter.

For a few minutes the festival continued until a loud bellowing rang through the surrounding forest. The Nelwyns immediately panicked and ran for cover while their few warriors, led by a brave Nelwyn named Heracles, grabbed their weapons. Amid the chaos a huge black dog emerged from the forest and ran towards the village.

Arthur looked around frantically. "Where's Michelle?!"

Tino looked around also. "I don't know! She was right here!"

Arthur pointed to a nearby house. "Take Peter there! Quick!"

He ran off to look for Michelle, but he couldn't make out any faces in the panicking crowd. The dog was getting closer; it had reached the edge of the village and the Nelwyns screamed and ran from it.

"Michelle, where are you?!" Arthur yelled. Finally he spotted her standing next to an abandoned booth, sobbing uncontrollably in terror. "Michelle!"

Michelle saw him and held out her hands desperately. "Dada!"

He picked her up and hid beneath the platform where the High Aldwyn still stood, protected by some warriors. The dog jumped over a fence, and Arthur watched it tear up some wooden cradles. Heracles and some others leapt over the fence and began jabbing at it with their spears. The dog snarled, but couldn't do anything as it was hemmed in by the Nelwyns and the fence.

Heracles managed to stick his spear into its back and it howled in pain. The warriors backed up a bit as it thrashed about. The dog pounced on Heracles and pulled him to the ground. Heracles tried to hold off the beast with one hand while he grabbed a pitchfork with the other. He got a good grip and shoved it into the dog's chest. It yelped and fell off to the side. The others quickly joined in and stabbed it to make sure there was no chance of it living.

The Nelwyns slowly came out of hiding to look at the dead monster. Peter ran to Arthur and Michelle, yelling, "Dada! Dada!" Arthur hugged them both close and let out a sigh of relief.

Heracles held up the chewed up bits of furniture. "It was looking for somebody's baby!" Several villagers looked at their babies and the crowd murmured in alarm. One young mother screamed softly and had to be comforted by her husband. Arthur remembered the Daikini baby back at home. Had that dog been looking for her?

Michelle seemed to be thinking the same thing. "Mommy," she whispered.

Arthur left the crowd and sprinted to his house as fast as his legs would carry him with Peter and Michelle right behind him. He finally reached it, all the while cursing how it was on the _far_ side of the village, and slammed open the door.

"Francine! Francine!"

Francine peeked her head around the corner, still holding the baby. "I'm here," she said calmly. She hadn't even heard the dog's howling.

Arthur hugged her tightly. "Oh, Francine, I was so worried," he managed to get out between gasps.

"What's wrong?"

Arthur looked at the baby sadly. "We can't keep her, Francine. We have to take her to the village council." He explained what had happened and Francine reluctantly agreed. Tomorrow they would take her to the village council.

* * *

**Well, looks like things are getting interesting. Who knows what will happen at the village council... **


	4. The Aldwyn

**Also Titled: It's All Arthur's Fault! **

* * *

The large council room was packed with Nelwyns. They chattered and argued amongst themselves while the High Aldwyn sat at the front of the room and oversaw the proceedings.

Sadiq, being one of the most important people in the village, stood up to have his say: "Silence!"

Everyone quieted. "One beast we can kill, but there may be more! And you can be assured that they won't give up until they find what they're looking for!" Arthur and his family entered the room, Arthur holding the baby closer at Sadiq's words.

"It's a sign!" one man called.

"Who's to blame for this?!"

"We must find the culprit and throw him in the pit!"

_Oh great… _Arthur and Francine looked at each other as the whole crowd began chanting, "In the pit! In the pit!" They turned around slowly and were about to leave when a voice called out,

"Arthur? Arthur Kirkland?"

It was the High Aldwyn. The crowd parted and made way for Arthur as he walked forward, looking at the High Aldwyn sheepishly. "Come forward," the High Aldwin beckoned. The crowd stared dangerously at Arthur as he shuffled forward with the baby.

"My children found this baby alone by the river, High Aldwyn," he explained, showing him the baby. She squirmed and let out a cry.

"A Daikini child!" the High Aldwyn gasped.

Sadiq stepped forward again. "That's what the beasts want; let's give it back to them!" The crowd roared in agreement.

Arthur held the baby closer. "They'll kill her! You can't!"

Sadiq shook his head at Arthur's stupidity. "It's not one of us."

The High Aldwyn peered closely at the babe. "This child is special!" Everyone shut up to listen to him. "This child must be taken beyond the boundaries of our village, all the way across the great river to the Daikini crossroads."

There was a pause before someone asked, "Well, who'll do that?"

Sadiq grinned maliciously before interrupting. "Well, it seems only fair that the man who has to take this baby to the crossroads be the very man who plucked it out of the river. I nominate Arthur Kirkland."

"No!" Francine shouted.

The crowd murmured and Arthur flinched nervously. Him? He'd never been across the river in his entire life. Surely there was someone more qualified… He looked beseechingly at the High Aldwyn.

The High Aldwyn shook a pouch around his neck. "I will consult the bones!" He shook out five bones and everyone quieted to hear his verdict. He looked at Arthur and whispered so quietly that no one else could hear, "The bones tell me…nothing." The baby cooed and the High Aldwyn looked at it, then back at Arthur.

"Do you have any love for this child?" he asked softly.

The baby looked at Arthur too, as if interested in what he would say. Arthur nodded slowly. "...Yes. Yes I do."

The High Aldwyn stood up and shouted, "The bones have spoken! Arthur Kirkland, the safety of this village depends on you." Francine closed her eyes and held back a sob as the villagers cheered. "But you will need help: who has the courage to protect this brave fellow on his journey?"

Tino stepped forward. "I will go." Arthur smiled gratefully while people nodded and clapped Tino on the back.

Heracles pushed through the crowd. "I'm coming too."

Sadiq objected to this. "No! Not Heracles! He's the best warrior in our village! We need him here. Heracles, step back!"

Heracles gritted his teeth but reluctantly stepped back and left the room.

The High Aldwyn looked at Sadiq slyly. "All this expedition needs is a leader. And according to the bones…that leader is…_you, _Sadiq."

Sadiq visibly paled and turned in the direction Heracles had left. "Heracles! Come back!"

* * *

The High Aldwyn had agreed to see them off as they began their journey. He was walking beside Arthur. As Heracles and several volunteer warriors others walked by to prepare their packs, the High Aldwyn looked at Arthur and asked bluntly, "What's your problem, son?"

Arthur looked up, confused. "How do you mean?"

"When I held up my fingers, what was your first impulse?"

"Oh…that. Well, it was stupid."

"Just tell me."

"…To pick my own finger."

The High Aldwyn stopped and grinned. "Aha! That was the correct answer. You lack faith in yourself. More than anyone in the village, you have the potential to be a great sorcerer." Arthur blinked in shock.

"Now, when you're out there," The High Aldwyn continued, "Listen to your _own _heart." He rummaged in a bag at his waist and pulled out three acorns. "These will protect you." Arthur looked at them dubiously.

"Acorns?"

The High Aldwyn looked at him like he was an idiot. "They're magic! Anything you throw them at turns to stone!"

Arthur looked at them again but he still couldn't quite believe it. The High Aldwyn saw this and smiled kindly. "You have much to learn, young Kirkland." He made the magic sign of farewell, a signal that Arthur should join his companions.

Arthur put the acorns in his pocket and walked over to the clearing where the company was packing their bags. Peter and Michelle watched him as he packed his own sack.

"Are you scared, Dada?" Michelle asked.

"No!" Arthur scoffed, leaning down to grin at them confidently.

"Even with faeries in the woods that will put you to sleep for a hundred years?" Peter piped up.

Arthur paused for a moment. "…Doesn't bother me," he finally said. He hoped his bluff would stop the questions, but apparently Peter had plenty of them.

"Brownies?"

Michelle chimed in, wide-eyed. "Dragons?"

"Trolls? Trolls that'll skin you alive and take your face off?!"

"Peter!" Arthur half shouted. "You know I hate trolls."

"I can be your guard and carry your spear," Peter offered.

"Me too, Dada!" Michelle said.

Arthur pulled them close, laughing. "What a lucky father I am. I wish I could take you bobbins with me." They hugged for a minute until Arthur spotted some nearby children and nudged them. "Go play! Go on."

They ran off and he quickly shouldered his pack, which was shaped like a papoose to hold the baby, over his plain blue tunic. He walked over to where Francine was waiting with the baby sleeping in her arms. She placed the baby inside the papoose.

"We've never been apart," she said reflectively as she tightened the straps. She spun Arthur around and smiled sadly. "I miss you already."

Arthur smiled back. "Don't worry Francine, I'll be fine. I'll be back before you know it."

Francine nodded bravely. "…Well, remember to keep her warm. And… here." She placed a braid of long brown hair in his palms. "This will bring you luck."

Arthur looked at her in surprise and pushed back her headscarf enough to see her shorn hair. He pulled her in for a tight embrace and kissed her.

The High Aldwyn approached the group. "Good, brave people! The outer world is no place for a Nelwyn," he counseled. "Give the baby to the first Daikini you see, then hurry home." He picked up a small rock and shook it slightly. "_Tuatha…lokwathrak…tuatha!_" He threw it high into the air and everyone gasped as it turn into a small white bird. "Go in the direction the bird is flying!"

Sadiq looked at the bird critically as it flew off. He pointed at it with his staff. "It's going back to the village!"

The High Aldwyn did a double take. "Er, ignore the bird, follow the river."

"Move out!" Heracles yelled, and the group started marching through the woods.

* * *

**The first Daikini they see, eh? Heheheheheh...  
**


	5. The Crossroads

**Also Titled: Skeptics...Skeptics Everywhere...**

* * *

Half the day of them walking through the forest had passed before the group of Nelwyns stopped. The baby was fussing and seemed close to throwing a tantrum. Arthur stopped and gently pulled off the papoose. "Hold on, Tino."

Tino looked over his shoulder and paused. "What's wrong?"

"We have to stop!" Arthur yelled over the baby's wails.

Heracles looked at him. "Why?"

"I think the baby's sick," Arthur muttered as he pulled her out of the papoose.

Sadiq snorted and snatched up the baby. "Let me see!" he demanded crossly.

The baby suddenly burped and a trail of white vomit hit Sadiq squarely on the face. He blindly handed her back and everyone sniggered as a warrior tried to wipe off the goop.

"She'll be fine once she gets some rest," Arthur said, snickering. The baby cooed in agreement.

* * *

Three guards outside the door to Ivan's throne room shook in fear as they listened to the conversation going on inside. Even though they couldn't make out exactly what was being said, Ivan sounded _really _angry.

Inside, Ivan glared down from his throne at his sister. "I don't recall asking you to bring me a _dead peasant. _Natalia, you're useless!"

"I'm backtracking the peasant's trail. I'll find where he hid the baby," Natalia promised. Ivan scoffed and absentmindedly played with the scarf around his neck. They both turned as the doors opened and an armor-clad figure approached them.

Ivan grinned. "Ah, the General. At last."

The man passed Natalia, his head concealed by a skull-shaped helmet, and kneeled before Ivan's throne. "My king. I have destroyed the castle at Galladoorn," he rumbled in his thickly accented voice.

Ivan's grin grew bigger, more feral. "Well done. But now I have another task for you. Help my sister to find that tiny, _helpless_ baby that continues, somehow, to elude her!"

Natalia flinched and glared at the general, whose head whipped upward in surprise, revealing dark, hooded eyes.

"The baby of the prophecy? The one who would destroy you?" he questioned.

"I need that baby alive," Ivan commanded curtly. "I must perform the ritual that will exile that child's spirit into oblivion. Find her!" As he spoke, a purple aura appeared around him and his mages backed away nervously.

Natalia quickly protested, "I don't need his help, brother!"

"You'll do as I say," came the icy reply. The general sneered softly as he realized that, for now, he was the favored one.

Natalia nodded jerkily and spun on her heel. The general followed her out of the room. Slowly the aura disappeared, and one of Ivan's mages approached him.

"I have read the signs," he whispered. "One day, I fear, your sister will betray you."

Ivan snorted. "I trust her loyalty more than I trust yours."

* * *

The traveling Nelwyns had stopped for a break. Arthur had just finished changing the baby when Heracles paused in the middle of drinking from a water skin and looked around sharply. "Listen!" he hushed.

Now that they were paying attention, everyone could hear the faint sounds of dogs barking and men shouting. The Nelwyns gather up their supplies and hid in a cluster of thick bushes. Black horses with armed riders appeared and the baby fussed in alarm. Heracles and his warriors held their spears at the ready. A lone rider rode to the group right in front of the bushes.

"The Nelwyns have got the baby," Arthur heard the Daikini say. "We've searched the village, but a group of them are on the road somewhere." The Nelwyns all glanced at the baby.

"They couldn't have gone far! Widen the search and report to Natalia!" another Daikini shouted.

The riders urged their horses forward, and soon they were out of sight.

Sadiq let out a spluttering sigh and Heracles pointed in a different direction. "We'll have to keep to the woods."

* * *

A few hours later Heracles pointed to something through the thinning trees. "That's it! The crossroads!" The giant Daikini roads intersected at one spot in the middle of a barren field, where nothing but tufts of grass and sturdy, gnarly trees grew.

Arthur shuddered as they neared it. Several cages occupied by skeletons and bundles of rags hung from long beams next to the road. Obviously, they had once been criminals left there to die.

The baby squirmed and cried out softly, and Tino didn't look much better. Arthur set the papoose down and was reaching for the child's milkskin when a far-off shriek made them all jump. It wasn't a sound that came from any Daikini or Nelwyn. The warriors grabbed their spears and Arthur nervously backed up until he was close to one of the cages. Something latched onto the front of his tunic in a viselike grip with a sudden ferocity, and Arthur screamed as he was hoisted into the air and flipped around. The cage that he'd assumed was empty actually contained a living Daikini!

This Daikini had dirty blond hair that was matted around his face except for one strand that defied gravity in the front. Arthur struggled to get out of his hold, but the Daikini only brought him closer to the cage bars. There was no pity to be found in those wild blue eyes.

"Get me some water, _peck_, or you die," the Daikini growled. Heracles ran forward but stopped when he saw the man's other hand grip Arthur's throat. Arthur gasped for air and nodded weakly.

"Do you understand?! Water," the man repeated.

"Y-yeah," Arthur choked out. The man let him go and he fell to the ground, moaning. He got to his feet and tottered to where his group was waiting.

"HURRY UP!" the Daikini shouted, his voice tainted with desperation. He snarled when they did nothing. "Get me some water, you measly little runts!"

Sadiq leaned in close to Arthur and Tino and whispered, "It's a Daikini. We're in luck."

Arthur looked at him in disgust- well, more disgust than usual. "We can't give her to him!"

Tino nodded. "Somebody put him there for a reason."

Sadiq shrugged carelessly. "We've got to get rid of her. Those soldiers are after us!"

Tino hushed him. "Shh! …He's looking right at us." The trio looked back at the violent Daikini, who smiled slyly at them.

"We've got to give that baby to somebody," Heracles said, not bothering to keep his voice down.

The Daikini lurched forward, clutching at the bars of his cage. "Dudes, I'm somebody." The Nelwyns looked at him suspiciously. "Let me out of here, I'll take care of the baby." He puckered his lips and made smooching sounds, trying to make the baby laugh. The baby raised an eyebrow and gave a half smile as if to say "Really?" but she didn't seem to find this man a threat.

"I trust him completely," Sadiq said airily.

"But he tried to strangle me!"

"_I_ want to go home!"

Arthur stomped his foot. "NO Sadiq! We should wait!"

Sadiq reared up to his full height and looked down at Arthur. "Are you challenging my authority?"

Arthur faced him bravely. "As far as this baby is concerned…yes."

"Don't listen to him, Sadiq!" the Daikini yelled.

Sadiq _hmphed _and walked past Arthur. "Fine. You two stay here alone, but we're going. Get the gear, men!" Arthur approached Heracles desperately.

"Heracles-"

"It's not his decision!" Sadiq said.

Arthur finally lost his patience: "You're troll dung, Sadiq!"

"While you're standing here your fields aren't getting planted! Think about that," Sadiq taunted.

Arthur clenched his fists. "I'm gonna-"

"You're gonna what?" Sadiq challenged. Arthur clamped his mouth shut; he couldn't do anything against Sadiq.

Sadiq laughed uproariously and waved to the rest of the company. "Let's go!"

Heracles looked at Tino. "Are you coming?"

Tino shook his head. "I'm staying with Arthur."

The Daikini watched them as they passed. "Sadiq, let me out! I'll take care of the baby, I swear! Just let me out of here. _Please_! Heracles, let me borrow that spear. Just. For. A minute."

The warriors ignored him as they walked back into the forest.

"At least get me some water! Don't leave me alone with these two!" he shouted in a last ditch effort. He let out a frustrated grunt and sat back in his cage.

The baby started crying and Tino asked nervously, "What do we do now?"

"That was really stupid, peck," the Daikini called from the cage.

Arthur spun around. "Don't call me a peck."

The man looked at him in mock contrition. "Oh, I'm sorry…peck. Peck, peck, peckpeckpeckpeck!"

Arthur lurched toward him. "You be careful! I'm a powerful sorcerer!" He pulled out one of the acorns in his pocket. "See this? I'll throw it at you and turn you to stone!"

The Daikini's expression changed from mock contrition to mock fear. "Whoo-!" he gasped melodramatically. "I'm really scared! No, don't! Don't!" He looked around wildly. "THERE'S A PECK HERE WITH AN ACORN POINTED AT ME!" He sneered at Arthur and stuck out his tongue.

Arthur looked down at the seemingly innocent acorn. "Oh, I wouldn't want to waste it on you anyway," he mumbled.

"Ha!" the man yelled, calling his bluff. "Peckpeckpeckpeckpeckpeckpeck_PECK!"_

* * *

***evil snickers* Oh yeah, they can totes trust this Daikini. Woot! My favorite character from the movie appears, acted out by my favorite country! **

**Also, for those of you who have seen the movie and are wondering, "Da heck, Viva?! Who's General Kael?" Well... I'm keeping it a secret. Partly because it plays a (small) part in the plot later and partly because I don't want to get killed by angry fangirls... (_Please _don't fill your reviews with "Is it so and so?" because I will ignore and possibly delete them.)**

**And yes, I'll been going by the movie for most of the time but I _am_ changing some things. Ya know, fleshing out some parts and ideas that I'd liked to have seen more of in the movie.  
**


	6. The Smell of a Battle

**Also Titled: Arthur and Tino Make a Stupid Decision **

* * *

Arthur added some more wood to the fire he and Tino had built. He looked around at the surrounding darkness warily. The thought of spending the night next to some crazy Daikini with soldiers looking for the baby wasn't comforting to say the least. He glanced at the baby and was relieved to find her asleep. Tino handed him some bread toasted over the fire and he bit into it hungrily. He turned to look at the Daikini, who was looking at the bread and fire longingly. Arthur considered giving him some food but quickly dismissed it. There was no way he was getting close to that madman again.

* * *

Sunlight poured over some distant hills, bathing the sleeping Nelwyns in light. The night insects had stopped chirping and the morning birds replaced them with their songs. Arthur and Tino were so deeply asleep they didn't hear the horseman nearing them until it rode right past them and the horse neighed loudly. Tino jerked upright and looked around. "What was that?!" he squeaked.

"Mornin' boys," the Daikini mumbled, chewing on some leather. "Rough night last night, wasn't it?" Tino nodded but Arthur glared. The Daikini was acting much friendlier than before, suspiciously so. What was he up to?

"I don't think I introduced myself yesterday." The blonde placed a hand on his chest. "My name is Alfred F. Jones, and you are, uh-?" he held out his hand to shake theirs.

Tino walked forward eagerly to take it but Arthur pulled him back. "No Tino, don't go near him! That git is dangerous."

Alfred huffed indignantly, "I am not!"

A distant whinny came from down the road, another Daikini! "Oh good," Arthur sighed.

He ran to the side of the road and waved at the oncoming rider. He was galloping very fast but Arthur _had _to stop him! "Stop! Wait!" he shouted. The rider ignored him and Arthur dove to the side of the road to avoid being trampled. Alfred chuckled at Arthur's naivety. Arthur looked at the disappearing rider then at Alfred. "What's going on?" he demanded.

"Smells like a battle," Alfred yawned, managing to look bored.

This cocky arrogance annoyed Arthur. He got to his feet and challenged him. "Oh, and I suppose you're a warrior?"

Alfred looked at him very seriously. "I am the greatest swordsman and hero that ever lived."

Arthur rolled his eyes and walked back to the fire, which had gone out. He pulled out a cup and poured some water from a water skin into it. Alfred watched him cautiously. "Hey, uh…could I have some of that water?"

Arthur said nothing, he merely sipped at his cup. He still didn't trust this man, though he had done nothing today to try and insult or harm them. Alfred's face slowly crumpled and he dropped his head into his hands. His shoulders shook and he sobbed, "I don't know why I try." Tino was touched by this and looked at Arthur pleadingly, who sighed and slowly approached the cage. "I guess I _am _gonna die here," Alfred continued. "Who would care?!"

Arthur tsked at this display of melodramatics. "Here you wanker," he thrust the cup out at him. Alfred immediately dropped the act and snatched at the cup. But before he could get a hold of it, Arthur saw something in the distance that made him step away from the cage and closer to the road. "What's that?!" he yelled.

Alfred looked as well at a long, dark shape approaching them. "Well…I'd say two or three hundred horses, five or six wagons, and about a thousand fools." Arthur looked again, surprised by Alfred's tactical eye. So it was an army then, surely someone would take the baby. He ran to the baby and threw the cup at Alfred, who reached to catch it but it fell to the ground. Alfred moaned and licked at the precious drops of water on his hands.

Arthur unstrapped the sleeping babe from her papoose. She looked at him and cooed curiously. "It's going to be all right, little bobbin," Arthur murmured. As the army got closer the sound of drums filled the air. Arthur held the baby and he and Tino waited by the road. He walked up to the first rider.

"Excuse me, sir?"

"Out of the way, peck!" the man commanded brusquely. Arthur stumbled back, but he tried the men behind him.

"Uh, pardon me?" They all walked by, most of them not even looking at the two Nelwyns. Alfred watched them pityingly. A white horse detached itself from the line and Arthur seized his chance.

"Excuse me sir?" The man looked at him and Arthur could see that his armor was finer than the rest; possibly he was a captain, though he couldn't see his face as it was hidden behind his helmet. Arthur gestured to the baby. "We found one of your babies in our village. Will you please take care of her?"

The man removed his helmet and Arthur saw he was a young man with spiky blonde hair and dark blue eyes. He squinted at the baby. "We're going into battle, little ones. Find a woman to take care of her." Arthur's shoulders slumped. At least he hadn't called them pecks…

"They thought you _were _a woman, Matthias!" Alfred laughed. Matthias swiveled around in his saddle to look at Alfred for a moment before recognition dawned on his face.

"Well-" he chuckled. "Alfred F. Jones, what did you do this time?"

Alfred shrugged. "Nothing _you _wouldn't have done."

Arthur and Tino looked at each other in shock as Matthias continued, "I always knew you'd end up in a crow's cage."

"At least I'm not down there herding sheep!" Alfred shot back, looking at the passing army. "What are you doing this far north?"

Matthias' voice turned serious, "The Nockmaar army destroyed Galladoorn." Alfred's jaw dropped.

"The castle?" he whispered, leaning closer to the cage bars.

"Ivan's troops are crushing everything in sight."

Alfred shook his cage. "Come on. Let me out of here Matthias! Give me a sword! I'll win this war for you!" His eyes gleamed and his smiled turned wicked at the thought of battle.

"Alfred." Matthias sighed and tucked his helmet back on his head. "I still serve Galladoorn. You serve no one. Remember?" Alfred bowed his head and Arthur raised an eyebrow, was Alfred a mercenary then? Matthias' face contorted angrily, as if remembering some unpleasant experience, and snarled, "Sit in your coffin and rot!" Alfred glared at him dumbly, unable to speak.

Matthias turned his horse around, "Hyah!" his horse sped to a gallop and Tino pulled Arthur back before he got trampled again.

Alfred shouted out a last parting shot. "I'm gonna be around long after you're dead! When I get out I'm gonna chop off your head and stick it on a PIG POLE!" he slumped against the cage moodily and the baby started crying. Arthur rocked her gently and stared at Alfred curiously. There was much more to this man than met the eye.

* * *

Arthur watched the last soldier walk by. He was getting desperate, he needed to find someone to take care of the baby! His gaze kept wandering over to Alfred, perhaps he… No! Of course not! That man couldn't care for himself let alone a child.

"I miss Francine and the bobbins," he whispered, homesickness getting the better of him.

Tino checked the packs. "We're running out of food."

Alfred watched them. "Nobody's gonna take care of that baby," he predicted. "You know why? Nobody cares."

Arthur had to admit this was true. So far every Daikini he'd met had shown no interest whatsoever in her except for Alfred, and he only cared about getting free!

Alfred stared at the babe intensely. "Except me. You want to go back to your families. I want out of this cage. Let me take care of that baby. I'll look after her like she was my own!"

Tino studied him. "I…believe he would Arthur," he decided.

Arthur scoffed, "He doesn't know anything about babies."

"Right, but I know a _lot _of women who do," Alfred reasoned. Arthur rolled his eyes at that. "If I had somebody in my life, a little daughter perhaps, I might have a reason to go on living." He looked off in the distance and Arthur was again annoyed by his melodramatics. But… his eyes looked so sincere, and he was obviously skilled with weapons. He could protect the baby… Alfred looked at Arthur and blue eyes met green. "You can't leave me in here to die," he begged. "Not when all I want to do is protect her."

Arthur looked at the baby, she giggled and waved an arm in Alfred's direction. Finally, he nodded and Tino leapt to his feet. He grabbed a spear Heracles had left them and cut the bonds holding the bottom of the cage. With a whoop Alfred fell out of the cage and did a somersault. Tino backed off nervously but Alfred was too happy to contain himself. He lifted Tino into the air and shouted, "I... feel... BETTER! You've done the right thing!" He whooped again and set Tino down, much to his relief. Arthur watched incredulously. This man seemed to be drunk on freedom! Alfred jumped and spun in the air, staggering slightly when he landed.

"You've got to promise to feed her," Arthur told him sternly.

Alfred held out his arms and picked up the baby. "Come to Daddy, little darlin'!"

"And keep her clean!" Arthur reminded.

"Absolutely!" Alfred cradled her to his chest and looked hurt. He giggled at the baby and she laughed too. Arthur flinched in alarm when he spun her around but the baby loved it, she laughed even more. "Aw, she likes me!" Alfred cooed.

Arthur held up a few items. "Here are her changing rags, and her milk skin."

Alfred stared and the bag hungrily. "Any milk in there?"

"It's for her!" Arthur scolded.

"I wouldn't steal from a baby!" Alfred protested. He knelt down next to Arthur and Tino. "You worry too much, peck."

"It's Arthur!" Tino said.

"I meant Arthur." Alfred grabbed the rags and milk skin. "Now listen boys... Arthur. You've done the right thing. I want you to get home and bring your crop in." He clapped Arthur on the shoulder. Poor Arthur was totally confused now as to Alfred's personality. He went from being savage to kind to arrogant in a single minute. Could he really trust this man with the baby?

…He had to.

He kissed the babe on the cheek. "Good bye, little one," he said fondly. The baby smiled and waved an arm. Alfred grinned confidently and stood up walking down the road in the opposite direction the army had been going. "Please take good care of her!" Arthur shouted in farewell.

Alfred turned and held up his right hand, "I give you my word of honor!"

Arthur watched him leave with the precious bundle, his emotions at war within himself. Tino tugged on his arm after a while and they began the journey home.

_THE END!_

_..._

_..._

_..._

_Just kidding! XD Did you really think Alfred could take care of the baby? Here's what really happened five minutes later…_

Tino waded his way through some tall ferns, chattering excitedly all the while. "If we hurry, we can be home by tomorrow morning. We'll be heroes!"

Arthur grinned. "Do you really think so?"

"Sure!" Tino held up a hand. "'Look! There's Arthur and Tino. The heroes have come home!'"

Arthur laughed, getting into the spirit of things. "'Welcome back boys, you deserve medals!'" He stopped walking for a second. "Tino…did we really do the right thing?"

"Absolutely," Tino assured him. "There's nothing to worry about." Just as he finished speaking a huge black eagle swooped out of the sky and flew right past them. A dark haired brownie, one of the few creatures smaller than Nelwyns (seriously, they were only a few inches tall), was riding on its back and clutched in the eagle's claws was…

"The baby!" came Arthur's strangled cry. He watched in horror as the brownie urged the eagle higher.

"I stole zhe baby!" it shouted. "I stole zhe baby!" The baby wailed inside it's papoose as it was rocked to and fro.

Arthur ran after the eagle. "That's my baby! Stop! Hey, come back!"

"Left you imbecilic bird, _left_!" The brownie shouted, flying deeper into the forest. Arthur and Tino ran as fast as they could after it but the underbrush soon got thick and-

"Ow!" Arthur winced as a tiny arrow pierced his arm. He saw several brownies standing in the trees. The fur-clad miniature men were aiming at them with small bows.

Tino ran past him. "Let's get out of here!"

They covered their faces with their arms to avoid getting hit. More and more brownies appeared and it was getting harder to dodge the arrows. Just as Arthur thought they would get away from the tiny menaces, the ground beneath then gave way and they fell into a pit. Arthur hit his head hard at the bottom and the last thing he heard was the brownie's chattering laughter.

* * *

**Haha, I like this chapter for a lot of reasons. XD Our cast is broadening a bit, no? ****  
**


	7. The Quest

**Also Titled: Someone Finally Tells Arthur the Plot **

* * *

Arthur moaned softly as he woke up. He tried to reach up and clutch his head but he couldn't move his arms for some reason.

"Hey ugly, wake up!" a small voice said in his ear before some water was thrown on his face.

Arthur gasped in shock and blinked rapidly to dispel the water from his eyes. He looked to his side and saw several brownies watching him. Glancing up he could see it was nighttime. He then looked down and realized that he and Tino were tied down. He grunted and tried to break the twine holding him. This spooked the brownies and they jumped back.

A white haired brownie poked him with his spear, "Stand your ground you unawesome cowards! He's our prisoner."

Arthur looked over at Tino, who was awakening. "Where's the baby?!" he hissed.

A small light appeared in the trees, so faint that at first Arthur thought it was a star. A woman's voice echoed around the forest. "_Bring the Nelwyns to me_."

The dark haired brownie, the one who'd ridden the eagle and obviously the leader of the group, jumped onto Arthur's stomach and clapped his hands. "You heard her!" The rest of them began dragging Arthur and Tino across the forest floor. Now that he was closer, Arthur could see that the tiny menace was uncommonly clean and well dressed in his fur clothing and had a mole on his chin.

"What's going on?" Arthur demanded.

The brownie held up his staff threateningly, "Shut up or I'll break your nose!" He looked at them haughtily. "You are mine to toy with."

"Where did you get that baby?"

The brownie laughed, "I stole it from a stupid Daikini!"

The woman's voice returned, a bit more testily. "_Roderich! Release the Nelwyns, and stop pestering them for goodness sake!_"

"Uh oh," Roderich muttered. The brownies cut the ropes and Arthur scrambled to his feet. He glared at the brownies so fiercely that they ran for cover in the trees.

The light got bigger and brighter. Arthur squinted as a filmy mist surrounded them. "_Welcome to my kingdom," _the woman said, though Arthur and Tino still couldn't see her. Faeries appeared and circled around the Nelwyns' heads. One even kissed Arthur on the nose before zipping away.

The mist gathered into a single column then finally dispelled to reveal a tall, beautiful woman with wavy brown hair bedecked in pink flowers. A pearly white dress covered her tall frame and two wings could be seen on her back. She smiled at the Nelwyns and said, "_I'm so happy to see you, Arthur Kirkland."_

Arthur blinked in shock. "How do you know my name?" he asked.

"_Lilli Zwingli told me." _

Before Arthur could ask who Lilli Zwingli was the woman drifted to a large tree with a hollow trunk. Arthur gasped when he saw the baby lying at the base of the tree but restrained himself from running over and grabbing her. "_Lilli? Lilli, Arthur is here," _the woman cooed. Lilli turned her head and smiled at Arthur. Wait...

"But… she's just a baby," Arthur whispered in disbelief.

"_She's very special. My Brownies have been searching for her ever since we heard she was born." _The woman raised a hand to Arthur, "_Lilli Zwingli has chosen you to be her guardian." _As she spoke Lilli floated into the air and came to rest in Arthur's arms.

Arthur looked down at her. "Me?"

"_Yes. She likes you," _the woman laughed. "_And Lilli Zwingli knows you have the courage to help us." _Arthur watched the woman pull what looked to be a knotted stick out of her sleeve. "_Take my wand to the sorcerer, Luka_s _Bondevik. He will guide you and Lilli Zwingli to the kingdom of Tir Asleen, where a good king and queen will look after her."_

He was reaching for it when Arthur abruptly came to his senses. He shrank back in protest. "You need a warrior for a job like this. I'm nobody!" He looked back down at the infant. "Lilli, you don't want me!" Lilli just smiled and gurgled. Arthur tried his luck with the faerie queen, "Tell her! I'm short, even for a Nelwyn." The lady's face grew somber and she disappeared before his eyes.

"Hello?" Arthur called. The sudden descent of darkness made his vision blurry.

The faeries became agitated and flew off as their queen reappeared, even larger and more serious. "_Lilli Zwingli must survive! She must fulfill her destiny and bring about the downfall of King Ivan, whose powers are growing like an evil plague. Unless he is stopped, Ivan will control the lives of your village, your children – everyone." _Arthur bit his lip and tried to banish the thought of Peter and Michelle as slaves to a tyrant. The queen slowly backed away and left him with these words, "_All creatures of good heart need your help, Arthur. The choice is yours." _She faded away and the clearing darkened as the remaining faeries left. Arthur stared at the wand she'd left while Tino looked at his friend sympathetically but stayed quiet. What could he have said anyway?

* * *

Arthur was up early the next morning, pacing back and forth while thinking about his limited options. He finally came to a decision and shook Tino awake. "Hey, Tino. Wake up!" His friend sat up with a yawn and he continued, "It's time to go home."

Tino sat up straighter and smiled. "Home?" Arthur nodded. Tino laughed and ran to their packs. Arthur watched him quietly for a while,

"Listen, Tino. Tell Francine I love her-" Tino whipped around to stare at him. "-And I think of her every day."

Tino finally realized what he meant. "Arthur…"

"And tell her I'm not going to let anything happen to the baby."

His friend studied him. "Are you _sure _you know what you're doing?"

A nervous laugh escaped. "I hope so."

Tino pulled him into a hug, "Be _careful,_" he urged. Arthur nodded clapped him on the back in farewell.

* * *

Arthur rolled his eyes as his two Brownie guides got into _another_ argument. It was barely midday and he'd lost track of how many times they'd squabbled. Apparently the faerie queen had appointed the white haired brownie, whose name was Gilbert, and that annoying one from before, Roderich, to be his guides. Not only that but they were much faster that himself and they often complained about him being so slow. _Hmph, why don't they try carrying Lilli through this blasted forest for a change, _he thought angrily. He finally caught up to them when they stopped to argue on a log.

"I know zhe vay, Roderich!" Gilbert huffed.

"You alvays zhink you know zhe vay. _I _am zhe leader!" Roderich countered.

Arthur sighed and asked, "How long will it take to find Lukas?"

Gilbert grinned and hopped over a knot in the log, pointing to the mountain range ahead of them. "Not long. He's been exiled to an island just over zhose hills."

"He's what?!" Arthur gaped.

"Exiled. By zhe evil king Ivan!" Gilbert laughed wickedly at Arthur's shocked expression.

Roderich stomped over to the troublemaker. "Gilbert, you fool! He doesn't need to know everyzhing!"

The white haired Brownie pouted. "I didn't tell him everyzhing."

Roderich walked past him and waved him off. "You told him enough."

"Vhat did I say?"

"You mentioned the island, you mentioned the _king_-"

"So?" Gilbert countered

Arthur held up a hand, "Wait a minute!" They, of course, ignored him. Roderich lost his balance and fell off the log, taking Gilbert with him. Arthur towered over them and placed his hands on his hips."What do you mean? What are you saying, "mysterious island"?" He waved his hands and the wand sparked at the end. The Brownies leapt back in alarm and Roderich held up his hands .

"Don't play vith zhat vand! Zhe queen told you it had vast powers!" Gilbert nodded in agreement but Arthur snorted, she'd told him no such thing!

"Only a great sorcerer can use it, not a stupid peck like you!" Gilbert cackled again like it was the funniest thing in the world. Arthur growled; to be called a peck by creatures ten times smaller than him! Roderich smiled triumphantly and pointed in the direction they'd just gone. "Zhis vay."

Gilbert disagreed. "No, no, no. I don't zhink so." Roderich paused and tried another direction.

"Nope!" Gilbert hooted before pointing straight ahead. "Zhis vay!"

"Zhis vay?!" Roderich paused again before nodding and looking at Arthur. "Ve go zhis vay."

"That's vhat I said." Gilbert muttered about how some people had no sense of direction.

Arthur looked at Roderich doubtfully. "Are you sure you know where you're going?"

The Brownie waved his concern aside. "Of course! Vith us as your guides no harm vill befall you."

Arthur had a feeling he would regret believing him.

* * *

**The funniest thing about this, for me at least, is the fact that when I was writing this I totally forgot that Austria had a bad sense of direction. Yeah! It wasn't until Jywy edited this chapter and pointed it out to me that I realized just how serendipitous this was. Honestly, the only reason I had Austria and Prussia be Franjean and Rool was because they make a good comedy duo. *facedesk* **

**Anyway, we've finally reached our main quest! Huzzah! **


	8. The Tavern

**Also Titled: Comic Relief and Crossdressing **

* * *

Arthur cursed under his breath and looked up at the sky to see if there was any chance the downpour might stop. A crack of thunder let him know that it would rain for awhile yet. The poor Nelwyn was soaked through and he'd had to take the baby out of her papoose and hold her to keep her from getting wet. With a sigh of relief he stumbled out of the forest and onto a Daikini road. Up ahead he could see a rough looking inn. Roderich, who had taken refuge from the rain inside the papoose with Gilbert, poked his head out and immediately cried, "Ve are NOT going in zhere!"

"But Lilli needs fresh milk, and we're drenched!" Arthur reasoned.

"You are not in command here, Shorty, I am!" Arthur walked on anyway which only enraged his guide. "Are you listening to me?! You-WHOA!" Roderich lost his balance and fell back into the papoose, effectively silencing him.

Arthur slowly climbed up the steps to the inn and walked inside. A boxing match was taking place in the middle of the floor and a swarm of drunken Daikini blocked Arthur at every turn. He tried to sidestep these giants while looking for a woman who might help him. He finally found a gaudily dressed lady and approached her, "Excuse me? Excuse me!" The woman glared at him stonily. Arthur gulped and patted Lilli's back, "Could you spare some milk for this poor, hungry baby?"

Her face twisted into a snarl and she grabbed some lettuce from a nearby bowl. "Get outta here, peck!" she screeched, throwing the lettuce in his face. Others joined in,

"Get outta here or we'll cook ya!"

"Scram, you runt!"

Arthur quickly retreated until he was safe underneath some stairs that lead to the second floor of the inn. He unwrapped Lilli and laid her down on some soft straw. She looked so hungry, where was he going to find some milk for her? Unnoticed by Arthur, Gilbert poked his head out of the papoose and whistled appreciatively at a young woman leaning against a wall.

"Look at her! Ksesese, I could use a love potion on her!" He grabbed a pouch hanging around Roderich's neck and tugged viciously. "Roderich, hey! Give me zhat dust of broken hearts!" Roderich tried to pull it back but Gilbert was stubborn.

"It's very dangerous. It belongs to zhe faeries!" Roderich shouted. With a final tug Gilbert pulled both of them out of the papoose and they dropped to the ground with a yell.

"Quiet! Do you want to get us all killed?" Arthur hissed.

Gilbert groaned and sat up, rubbing his eyes as some dust from the pouch spilled into the air. He staggered away sneezing and disoriented.

Roderich watched him and groaned, "Oh, Gilbert! Alvays playing vith zhose faerie love potions. You'll fall in love vith the first female you see you know!"

"Meow?"

They both gasped when a cat appeared from between two crates, Roderich in fear and Gilbert in adoration.

The albino Brownie staggered towards the she-cat, "You are so beautiful!" he sighed. "Your eyes! Your whiskers! I have to kiss you!" He held out his arms to embrace the confused cat.

Roderich tried to warn him, he really did. "Gilbert! Stay back! Oh, that stupid dust of broken hearts!"

Gilbert screamed as the cat swatted him so forcefully that he flew through the air and landed on a nearby table. He scrambled to his feet only to trip into a barrel leaning against the table. He quickly swam to the top and spit out the beverage before realizing what exactly he'd fallen into.

"BEER!" He happily fell back into the barrel.

Arthur and Roderich flinched as some Daikini started pulling out whips and crude weapons to fight one another with. Some just grabbed chairs and threw punches.

"Zhese people are crazy! Zhis could be bad!" Roderich shrieked before hiding back in the papoose. Arthur scooped up the baby and pressed against the wall, only for the wood to give way. He cried out as he fell back into a room that probably belonged to the innkeeper. A seedy looking lady, the innkeeper's wife no doubt, ignored this intrusion and seemed to be focused on a person in the corner of the room. "Hurry! If my husband finds you he'll kill us both."

The figure turned around to reveal… Alfred F. Jones in a pink dress complete with fake breasts.

"How do I look?" he asked.

"Cover your face!" the woman replied.

"Not you!" Arthur moaned.

Alfred heard him and looked down at the Nelwyn incredulously. "Where the hell did you come from?" he demanded.

Arthur gritted his teeth. "I knew I shouldn't have trusted you!"

Roderich poked his head out. "Don't I know you?" he asked. Alfred glared at him and grabbed a scarf to cover his face. "I stole zhe baby from you, Daikini, vhile you vere taking a pee-pee!"

"You are crawling with Brownies," Alfred muttered in reply. The lady heard him and looked at Arthur. She screamed and backed away. "I hate Brownies!"

Roderich laughed and stuck out his tongue as he thoroughly enjoyed his power but it was short lived. A tall man with a massive beer belly slammed the door open and tottered inside. Arthur hid in the corner and watched Alfred hide behind the woman.

"WHERE IS HE?! WHERE?!" the drunkard shouted.

His wife coaxingly smiled and answered, "There's nobody here but me and, uh, my, uh… my cousin, Hilda."

Arthur tried to keep from laughing at the ridiculous name. Hilda?! What on earth had Alfred and the wife done to have to hide from the man? Oh… wait… nevermind.

The woman continued, "Hilda, this is my husband, Llug."

Llug seemed to find Alfred very attractive and, seeing as he was so drunk he forgot his wife was right there, he reached out to grab his "breasts". Thinking quickly, Alfred sidestepped him and ran to Arthur. Arthur yelled as Alfred snatched Lilli from his grasp. "Give her back ya slimy git!"

"Pecks make such terrible nursemaids," Alfred said in a falsetto voice.

"Nursemaid?!" Arthur echoed indignantly. Alfred glared and kicked Arthur onto his back.

Gilbert had finally left his barrel and accidentally stumbled into the room. He spotted Arthur.

"Excuse me! Are ve having a party? Ksesesese!" Arthur grabbed him and stuffed him into the papoose. "Hey! Let me go! Hey, hey! Fight like a man!" Gilbert protested.

Alfred wasn't having an easier time than Arthur. Llug was still advancing on him, laughing lewdly.

"Wanna breed?" Llug asked.

"Tempting, but no," Alfred answered, backing towards the door. He'd almost reached it when it slammed open again but this time black clad soldiers entered. They grabbed everyone inside, including Arthur, and dragged them out with the rest of people at the inn. People screamed as these menacing men blocked all the exits and brandished lethal weapons. Arthur struggled and fought against the man holding him but he was no match for the black-caped soldier. "Gather up all these babies!" he heard one man shout. Lilli! Where was she?! He spotted Alfred and ran to his side once the man holding him let go.

"Let me see that baby's arm," a cool voice demanded. Alfred spun around and saw a girl inspecting another woman's child. "That's not the one," she said. A soldier pushed them out of the way and the girl's eye fell on Alfred. He instinctively held the babe closer in his arms as she marched up to him. "You! Are you the mother of that child?"

"Yes, yes I am."

A raised eyebrow. "Let me see it."

Arthur spoke up, "NO! Don't let her- AH!" The woman's foot shot out and she viciously kicked him aside, much harder than Alfred had done. Alfred glared at her even though the scarf hid his features.

She turned back to Alfred. "I gave you an order, woman!" She reached for Lilli but he jabbed her back with his elbow. Two soldiers drew their swords and pointed them at his throat. The girl ripped of her helmet and Alfred gaped. Her beautiful features and long, platinum blonde hair captivated his attention.

"You- You're…beautiful!"

Arthur facepalmed. The git had used his real voice!

"And you're very strong," the girl commented, edging closer to him.

"Thank you."

With a sneer she ripped off his scarf. Everyone could now see his masculine features. "You're no woman!"

Llug saw this and immediately flew into a rage. "NOT A WOMAN?!"

Alfred shrugged and looked at the soldiers. "Gentlemen, meet Llug." He dove to the side just as the drunkard barreled into them and knocked them all over. Arthur ran after Alfred and they both tried to sneak upstairs in the confusion, but the girl saw.

"After them! To the horses!" she ordered her men.

Alfred made it to the second floor deck first and without pausing an instant he leapt from the balcony and landed in a wagon. The men loading it with barrels backed off in surprise and Alfred used it to his advantage to set the baby down in the back and grab the reins.

"Alfred, wait!" Arthur yelled as he jumped from the balcony. He just managed to land on the cart before the warrior urged the horses into a gallop. Roderich and Gilbert fell from the papoose and rolled across the cart. Arthur sat up with a groan, noticing vaguely that the rain had finally stopped, and managed to make out several voices behind them through the ringing in his ears.

"To your horses!"

"Hyah!"

"HE'S NOT A WOMAN!"

Looking back he saw three horsemen and two more in a small chariot in pursuit. He tried to crawl towards Lilli but the git was driving too crazily. "Alfred, stop!" he cried. The brownies were having trouble too, they couldn't keep their feet as the wagon bounced about. "Alfred! I'm warning you- OW!" Alfred had taken an apple (presumably it had been one of his "breasts") and thrown it at Arthur's head to silence him.

"Prepare to die!" Gilbert shouted at two of the riders as they came up on either side of the cart. One soldier jumped from his horse to the cart bed while the other shot at Alfred with his bow. Alfred let go of the reins and scooted off the bench, landing at the feet of the other attacker just before the arrow whizzed by the place his head should have been. The soldier raised his sword but Alfred kicked him in the chest and he stumbled next to Arthur. This gave Alfred enough time to find a wooden pole resting in the cart and swing it at the man's jaw. The blow sent the soldier flying out of the cart and for a moment Arthur was impressed by how strong he was.

The archer, seeing his fallen comrade, jumped into the wagon as well. Alfred hit him with the pole but the man batted it aside with his own sword. As the sparred, Gilbert tried to step in and jab the enemy's foot but soon gave up and hid between two barrels that had been tied down.

With a gasp Arthur realized that no one was steering the bloody cart! "Alfred! Stop!" he uselessly yelled again. The horses, being somewhat intelligent, stuck to the road but they were still going too fast. With a sigh he crawled to the front bench and looked for the reins. They'd fallen off onto the pole connecting the cart to the harness. Gulping, he started edging towards them.

The soldier fighting Alfred managed to bend him almost backward over the side of the cart in an attempt to fling him off. A well aimed punch from the blond made him stagger back in pain and Alfred sprang on him ruthlessly. Gilbert was retching out a hole in the wicker wall of the wagon, the rocking and all the beer he had drunk getting to him. He didn't notice how precarious his position was, leaning out of the speeding cart so far.

Arthur, still reaching for the reins, glanced up the road and gasped again when he saw that a slim tree had fallen over the path. It wasn't big enough to deter the horses but it would give the cart once heck of a-

The massive jolt sent Arthur flying over the bench and onto the pole where the reins were and Gilbert over the side. The Brownie clung to the the wicker siding and started screaming for help. "Roderich, help me!"

Roderich didn't know where his idiot partner was and danced around the two brawling men. "Gilbert!" he called.

"Help meeeeee!"

The pitiful wail came from beyond the two barrels. Roderich finally reached the hole Gilbert had fallen through and looked down in surprise. "Gilbert! Vhat are you doing?!" He muttered things like "idiot" and "imbecile" under his breath while he pulled him back into the wagon.

Arthur managed to grab the reins and pulled himself back onto the bench towards safety… as safe as one could be on an out of control cart with two brawling Daikini that is. He paused to briefly check on Lilli (she seemed to be enjoying all the action) before he noticed the last horseman ride up and jump on the cart. The man ignored Alfred and the other soldier and made straight for the baby. Arthur grabbed a wooden mallet from the bottom of the cart and faced him.

"You can't have her!" he shouted. The man smirked and jabbed at him with his spear but missed. Arthur hit him in the gut and then on the chin, making the soldier stagger back. A low tree branch finished the job by knocking him off the wagon.

Without warning the back wooden wheels splintered and broke, turning the wagon into a sledge. The Brownies clung to the barrels but Arthur hit his head against the bench as the wagon tilted backwards and was stunned. Lilli whimpered as he lay beside her, unmoving.

Alfred and his enemy had been pitched off the wagon. He'd managed to grab one of the ropes trailing behind but he couldn't climb up since the soldier was holding onto his legs. It seemed that if the man was going down, he would drag Alfred with him.

Gilbert snickered as the Daikinis were dragged behind the wagon but Roderich slapped him upside the head. "Gilbert, zhis isn't funny!" He looked at the barrels and an idea came to him. "Help me cut the rope holding zhe barrels!" he commanded, pulling out his knife. While they hacked at it the soldier was able to grab the other side of the wagon. He and Alfred punched at one another in an attempt to knock each other off. The ropes were finally cut and the barrels rolled down the wagon. With a yelp of pain the soldier tumbled off the wagon as they collided with his face. Alfred wearily climbed back up and stared at the Brownies incredulously.

A throwing star whistled past his head and jolted him back to awareness. The horses had slowed down and now the chariot had caught up with them. The soldier not driving pulled out a wicked looking mace and swung it at Alfred. He ducked and grabbed the pole again, using it to defend himself.

Arthur woke up with a startled groan. He saw the men fighting and noticed a split in the road, he urged the horses to take the right path and for a moment they were safe when the chariot took the left path. The paths blended into one again though and the man with the mace swiped dangerously close to Arthur. It embedded itself into the bench and the man was forced to release it.

"Stay down, Arthur!" came Alfred's curt command.

Instead, Arthur pulled back hard on the reins and the horses came to a sudden halt. The chariot flew by them for a dozen yards before turning around to face them. Alfred glared at Arthur and snatched the reins from him. "Have you gone crazy?!" he snapped.

"You can't go chasing around with Lilli like this!" Arthur yelled back. "We're getting off!"

Alfred shot him a look of disbelief and urged the horses into a gallop. It happened so quickly that Arthur was tipped off the bench and landed next to Lilli again. She started crying and Arthur tried to comfort her, telling her that Alfred was a good warrior and that he would save them (not that he really believed it).

Since he was doing this, he didn't get to see the "greatest warrior" pull the mace loose and lead the cart towards the oncoming chariot. He swung it over his head, the chain whistling in the air and the ball becoming a blur. Using his other hand, he guided the cart to the right side of the road and once they were close enough, he flung the weapon at the charioteer. The mace snapped the man's neck and he fell off, dead. The other man yelled as the horses, now out of control, slammed the chariot into a tree and tipped it over.

After traveling a few more yards, Alfred finally pulled the wagon to a stop. Poor Gilbert was so dizzy he tumbled off the wagon bed and onto the road. "Oh Gilbert…" Roderich sighed, flinging his hands up into the air.

"Now we stop, peck!" Alfred said. He jumped from the wagon, a bit clumsily since he was still wearing that dress.

"Stupid Daikini," Roderich muttered, helping Gilbert to his feet.

"Ask him to stop zhe wagon," Gilbert slurred.

Arthur ground his teeth but held his peace until he'd grabbed Lilli and hopped down. "You never drive that fast with an infant!" he lectured.

Alfred froze, pure indignation written all over his face. "I just saved that infant's life!" He pointed at the bundle in Arthur's arms briefly before wiping away a smear of blood at the corner of his mouth. Arthur stood there, unsure, while Alfred gathered some apples from the wagon and then slapped the horse's side, sending them galloping away again. Wordlessly Alfred pulled Arthur off the road and into some nearby bushes. Roderich followed but turned back fearfully when he realized that Gilbert had not followed.

Gilbert had fallen down again, too dizzy to stand. To make matter worse, more of Ivan's soldiers were thundering down the road.

"You idiot! Get out of the road!" Roderich shouted.

The albino Brownie screamed as the hooves of a dozen horses came within inches of smearing him into the ground, but miraculously he wasn't hurt. Alfred watched the riders pass out of sight before standing and heading into a nearby field with tall grass. "You better clear out, Arthur. Before those troops come back," he advised.

Arthur nodded dumbly and watched him leave. Alfred was an enigma to him and he didn't know what to think. He'd obviously been too irresponsible to take care of Lilli, but he'd also saved them all with his skills. Roderich and Gilbert were good guides (most of the time) but they wouldn't be much help if they ran into more trouble. Maybe…

"No, we don't need his help, the bloody git," Arthur muttered.

Lilli's face saddened and she started crying once Alfred was out of sight.

* * *

**Holy crap, this was a long chapter. Intense action scenes like this are my enemy... **


	9. The New Protector

**Also Titled: This Chapter's Kinda Sorta Filler**

* * *

Alfred grumbled to himself while he waded through the tall grass. Okay, so he'd lost the baby, but it wasn't his fault! That stupid Brownie had caught him when his fly- er, his guard was down. And then that peck had accused him of risking her life! "'You never drive that fast with an infant'," he mimicked sourly. He ripped off the top half of the stupid dress, leaving his torso bare.

"Alfred, wait!" a familiar voice called.

"Go home, Arthur! It's a dangerous world!" he said, not bothering to look back. The last thing he needed was that stuffy, annoying peck following him around.

He heard the grass rustle behind him. "That's why we need your help!" came Arthur's reply.

Alfred scoffed and turned around at this. The Nelwyn was having some difficulty with the tall grass, but he was determined. "Waddaya need my help for? You're a 'sorcerer'!" He started to walk away again.

"You're a great warrior, a swordsman! ...And you're ten times bigger than me, you tosser!"

With a growl Alfred turned around and faced Arthur, flinging the scraps of cloth he was holding to the ground. "I've got enough on my plate without you making things more difficult!"

The sound of dogs barking nearby made them both fling themselves to the ground. They waited quietly, hoping the grass would conceal them.

Those pesky Brownies that hung around Arthur popped up out of the grass. "Big dogs!" the darker haired one warned.

Arthur looked at Alfred pleadingly. "I'm sorry I was so cross. We wouldn't have gotten away without you." The baby cooed in agreement. Alfred looked away uncomfortably, he hadn't been expecting an apology, nor a compliment. He didn't get much of either. He let the baby grab one of his fingers with her surprisingly strong hands and she smiled.

The sounds of pursuit faded away and he got to his feet awkwardly. "Yeah, well, don't expect it to happen again." He turned so he wouldn't see the disappointed look on Arthur's face.

"Fine! Ve go zhat way, to zhe lake!" The dark haired brownie shouted, pointing in the direction they had come from.

The albino one shook his head and pointed south. "Zhat vay."

The darker one paused in consternation. "...You are drunk! And vhen you are drunk you forget-"

"You are in charge, ja, ja. Zhen vhich vay do ve go?"

The "leader" pondered for a moment before pointing south. "Zhat vay!"

A look of exasperation washed over Alfred's face and he groaned. "Aw man! That's the way I'm going!" Arthur looked at him hopefully and he repressed another groan. "Fiiiine! You can follow me as far as the lake, but that's it!"

A grateful smile spread over Arthur's face and he stood up. "Thank you!"

Gratitude was another thing he wasn't used to. He shrugged and turned his attention to the two brownies. "Hey, small dudes, I'm hungry. Find me some eggs or somethin'."

The dark haired one slammed the butt of his spear into the ground and protested vehemently. "We are not afraid of you!"

"NOW!"

The duo ran off into the grass with a shriek.

* * *

Ivan watched his general walk up to his throne nervously. "Have you found the child?" he asked, getting right to the point. He could find no rest while that baby was alive, in sleep or wakefulness. Until that child was obliviated she would prey on his mind.

The general knelt before him and removed his helmet. Ivan could see only his dark hair. "The search goes on, my king," the man rumbled.

White hot anger flared inside Ivan and he berated him. "I have all these powers, I have the greatest army in the world, yet you cannot find one tiny child?!"

His general tried to reassure him that it wouldn't be long before the girl was found. Ivan lashed out and struck his cheek angrily. "Find the child! Time is running out!"

The general nodded, but said nothing.

* * *

Alfred leaned against a tree while Arthur pulled a few more branches on their small fire. Night had fallen and they were all tired from the day's events. The Brownies were already asleep on a small pile of ferns and Lilli looked close to dozing off. Arthur tenderly wrapped the blanket more tightly around her and kissed her on the forehead.

"She's kinda cute," Alfred admitted. Arthur looked at him in surprise and he added quickly, "Ya know, when she's not crying."

Arthur looked at him seriously. "She's really a princess."

Alfred returned the look, but there was sarcasm in his voice. "Really? And you're a sorcerer. And I'm actually a king." He rolled his eyes and lay down. "Go to sleep, Arthur."

"Good night, Alfred," Arthur sighed. Just earlier the man had told him he'd once met a being from another planet, and now he couldn't believe that Lilli was royalty. Arthur would think he was a hypocrite, but that would imply he had an ounce of intelligence.

The forest was silent around them except for the sounds of night insects and the crackle of flames. Gilbert muttered something in his sleep about giant rats and smacked Roderich in the face unconsciously. Roderich jerked into wakefulness but simply rolled Gilbert away from himself and dozed off again. Arthur cast a glance at Alfred, who was now snoring, before pulling out Elizaveta's wand. He decided to try out a simple spell he knew and waved it around.

"Tuatha...lawkathok...tuatha!"

The wand glowed a pearly blue and Arthur yelled as a bang and a flash of smoke sent him flying into the air. He landed awkwardly on a high branch of the tree and clung to it fearfully.

Alfred sat up, startled, and whispered, "Arthur? Where'd ya go?" He looked around the campfire then up at the tree. He seemed vaguely surprised but not too perturbed by the fact that the Nelwyn was inexplicably twelve feet off the ground. "There you are," he managed to get out between a yawn. With a shrug he lowered himself back down and fell asleep almost instantly.

"Wait, Alfred! Don't go to… bollocks."

It was a long night for Arthur.

* * *

By noon the next day they'd traveled over the "hills" Gilbert had mentioned (with a pause in their journey to let Arthur nap. For some reason he was very tired.) and they stopped to eat by a large waterfall. Arthur left Lilli in Alfred's arms while he filled their waterskins. The water was icy cold and the rocks cut into his boots, but he was enchanted by the view. His home was in the lowlands so the sharp beauty of the mountains was unknown to him.

When he walked back over to them he saw that Alfred was feeding Lilli something. Hackles instantly raised, he asked, "What are you doing?"

Alfred looked up and grinned. "I found some blackroot, she loves it!"

"Blackroot?!" Arthur yelled, running up to them. He was appalled to see his precious charge swallow some of the vile stuff. "I am the father of two children, and you never give a child blackroot, let alone a baby!"

The warrior scoffed and stuck a piece between his lips. "Well, my mom raised us on blackroot. It's good for ya. Puts hair on your chest, doesn't it Lils?" he asked the baby. 'Lils' was an affectionate nickname he'd come up with for her.

"Her name is Lilli Zwingli, the future empress of Tir Asleen, and the last she'll want is a hairy chest!" Arthur snatched the pieces of blackroot out of Alfred's mouth and hands and threw them into the river.

He stomped off, his mood worsening when he heard Lilli whimper because he'd taken away her "treat".

"Did you see what he did? He stole our blackroot!" he heard Alfred say. He turned back in time to see Alfred kiss Lilli's cheek and grin. "I'll get ya some more, don't worry about it."

* * *

Finally, FINALLY after another day of traveling they reached a valley in the midst of the mountains that was dominated by a huge lake. Arthur shivered as he surveyed the scene. There was an abandoned village nearby but it was partially hidden by a veil of mist. Farther out near the center of the water was a small island and it too was swathed in mist. Gilbert saw it and crowed, "Zhere it is! Zhe island!" The brownies cheered and ran down to village.

Arthur looked up at Alfred and let loose a small smile. "We made it." Alfred nodded but looked preoccupied.

"Ve'll get a boat in zhat village!" Roderich called from far ahead.

"A big boat!" Gilbert added with a cackle.

It only took the group ten minutes to reach the village. Arthur headed for the broken down docks while Alfred rooted around some abandoned equipment. He grabbed a worn knife but quickly tossed it aside. He picked up another, this one looking a bit like a cleaver, and nodded. He wrapped leather around the handle and looked around some more. "Well, it looks like I got ya here," he finally said.

The brownies looked at him scornfully. "Vhat did you do?" Roderich demanded.

"All you did vas hang around und eat our eggs!" Gilbert added (un)helpfully.

Arthur, oblivious to the impending confrontation, called out, "I found a boat! We're good to go!" It was a good boat, sturdy and roomy yet small enough for him to row.

The warrior grinned. "Great, take these lizards out and drown them." He gestured to his small critics.

Roderich and Gilbert, of course, became immediately indignant. "Lizards? Who are you calling lizards?!"

"Your mozher vas a lizard!"

Alfred ignored their growls and threats as he walked by. He stopped and knelt by a crumbling house where Arthur had set the papoose down. He smiled sadly as Lilli once again grabbed his finger with her small ones. "Bye, Lils," he whispered. The babe immediately whimpered and pouted. Alfred sighed and looked back at Arthur, who was readying the boat. "If you really are a princess… take care of him." He'd actually come to care about these misfits, not something he usually encouraged in himself. With one last kiss on her forehead he straightened and started to walk away.

"Alfred!"

Alfred whipped around to stare at the Nelwyn. "What?" he asked a bit defensively. He hoped the little guy wouldn't beg him to stay again, he needed to-

"Thanks." Arthur smiled at him, sincere and grateful.

Unsure of how to respond, Alfred waved and continued walking. He looked back only once, shaking his head in amazement at Arthur's courage… or possibly his stupidity. As he neared the brownies he kicked some sand at them, making them fall over and spit out the grit.

"Keep walking, "hero"!" he heard the white one shout. "Don't even turn around!"

What a strange, strange bunch. Still, he wished them luck.

* * *

**I love these two brownies. I just... I just do. XD **

**And oh noes! Our hero has left! **


	10. The Island

**Also Titled: It's So Fluffeh!**

* * *

A while after Alfred's departure Arthur was ready to head out to the island. He looked up when thunder rumbled in the distance, but it seemed as if the heavy clouds above would pass by the lake without incident. To be safe, he carried Lilli inside an abandoned hut made of grass and wicker. She whimpered as he wrapped her up snugly.

"It's alright, Lilli. Go to sleep, nobody will find you here," he comforted. Nobody _could _find them here, any sign of civilization was miles away. He'd decided against taking her with him to the island as he couldn't quite trust the craftsmanship of the old boat he was taking. "I'll be back with Lukas Bondevik very soon," he told the brownies as they walked in.

Roderich positioned himself by the papoose. "Ve vill guard her vith our meager lives," he promised solemnly. Gilbert hurried to his side and nodded, thumping his spear into the soft sand for emphasis. Arthur nodded back and for once the Nelwyn and Brownies were in perfect agreement.

* * *

Arthur huffed and paused momentarily to wipe some sweat from his brow. Even though it was small, rowing the Daikini boat was proving to be a huge challenge. He looked ahead and was relieved to see the island was only a few yards away now. As he got closer he inspected the island. It was tiny, really, with a few sad-looking trees growing on it along with tufts of brown grass here and there. "Not very hospitable," he muttered.

When the bottom of the boat brushed the sand he jumped out and pulled it the rest of the way onto the shore. A dead tree had fallen over and he tied the rope to one of it's branches. _Why didn't the sorcerer just float back to land on a tree like this? _Arthur wondered and he finished the knot. Maybe this Lukas bloke wasn't too bri-

_CRUNCH! _

Arthur looked down, trying to figure out what he'd stepped on. A tiny scream escaped his lips when he realized that he'd stepped on a Daikini bone. He scanned the ground around him, his panic growing when he realized he was in the middle of a veritable pile of skeletons. Not very hospitable at all!

"Lukas!" he yelled, hopping and sidestepping around the bones as he tried to get to the top of the island. "Lukas Bondevik! I have to talk to you, please!" There was no answer as he cleared the scraggly trees. He reached the top and tried once more. "LUKAS!" a strong wind whipped by, ruffling his hair and snatching his call.

Shoulders slumped, Arthur wandered back to the sturdiest looking tree and leaned against it. A tiny island full of skeletons and not much else… a Nelwyn couldn't live here, let alone a Daikini. Lukas would have died long ago, or possibly escaped. Either way… "He's not here."

A loud, chattering screech above him made him scream for the second time that day. Arthur whipped around and looked up at the tree he was leaning against. Amid the leaves was a large, blond squirrel. It looked back at Arthur with dark beady eyes and asked, in a high-pitched voice, "Who are you?"

Arthur stared in amazement.

The squirrel hopped onto a lower branch. "Who are you?" it repeated.

"I-I'm," Arthur stuttered. "I'm Arthur Kirkland."

"What are you doing here?" it- he (Arthur was almost sure it was male) demanded.

Maybe this creature was Lukas' familiar? "I'm looking for the great sorcerer, Lukas Bondevik."

The squirrel leaned precariously closer. "That's me. I'm Lukas."

Arthur blinked once… twice… "This can't be right!"

Swishing his tail in an unimpressed manner, the squirrel responded, "Ivan transformed me before he banished me here. Believe me, it could have been worse!" He gestured with a paw to the skeletons. "Ivan also put a spell on this island, to kill anyone who tried to find me… hm… I guess he never accounted for Nelwyns though."

"Oh." Arthur stared at the squirrel blankly for a bit before remembering his task. He quickly pulled the wand out of the pouch on in belt. "Well, this wand is for you. It's from Elizaveta."

Lukas stilled. "The prophecy… it's true then. The princess has been born." He scampered down the trunk and ran until he was at Arthur's feet. "Take me to her!"

Arthur looked around at the bones. "Can I? I mean, the spell-"

"Only prevents people from landing on the island, not leaving," Lukas snapped. "Come! I must see the princess!"

* * *

Perched on Arthur's shoulder, Lukas stared wide-eyed at Lilli. As he'd predicted, they'd both been able to leave the island safely and row back across the lake. Not a talkative squirrel by nature, Lukas kept his absolute joy at seeing Lilli Zwingli alive and well to himself. The prophecy of Ivan's downfall was being fulfilled at that very moment! Arthur grinned as he held Lilli in his arms. She seemed to like Lukas, and her judgement of character was something he was starting to believe in more and more.

The brownies, however, were less impressed.

"_Zhat's _Lukas?" Gilbert asked in amazement.

Roderich shrugged and gesticulated. "I, er, don't know! I expected somezhing more grand. Less, uh-"

"Fuzzy."

"Yes, fuzzy!"

Lukas twitched an ear angrily at their comments. That brought up another point…

Arthur flinched as the squirrel leapt off his shoulder and landed in front of him in the sand. "You must use the wand. Turn me back into my human form," Lukas instructed.

Nodding, Arthur pulled out the wand again and asked, "What do I do?"

"You mean you're not a sorcerer?" The tone in Lukas' voice was one of astonishment.

"Yes!" Arthur quickly defended. "Well… sort of…I'm a farmer by trade actually." The brownies both groaned in disgust and turned away, throwing their spears to the ground. "I do know a few tricks," he added, glaring at the tiny duo.

The chattering laugh from the squirrel added to his shame. "Tricks? Elizaveta sent _you_?"

_I'm getting bloody tired of everyone I meet underestimating me, _Arthur thought. Lilli cooed at him happily and he was forced to admit that not _everyone _underestimated him. Still, more likely than not Lilli _over_estimated him.

"You must learn real magic."

Arthur looked up in shock. Lukas was looking him up and down critically, but not in a pessimistic way. His heart leapt at the possibility of actually learning powerful magic, the kind the High Aldwyn practiced. Perhaps-

"Vhat vas zhat?!" Gilbert demanded nervously. "Everyone, quiet!"

They all went silent and listened carefully. Arthur strained but all he could hear was the wind and water… No, there was something else. It was-

"Horses!" Roderich yelled, bending down to grab his spear. Gilbert followed suit and they both rushed out of the hut.

"Quick! Take her!" Lukas yelled. Arthur followed heed and scrambled out carrying Lilli. He'd barely crossed the threshold when at least ten black horses came into view. He gasped in shock, how had Ivan's soldiers found them so quickly?! The answer became painfully clear when the last two horses arrived. Riding one of the horses was…

Alfred.

He looked worse for wear, covered in bruises and signs of a whipping showing from around his ribs. His hands were bound and the rope was held by a surly-looking soldier. The fact that he hadn't willingly betrayed them comforted Arthur only a little.

Roderich wasn't as forgiving. "I knew he vas a traitor!"

Alfred grinned sardonically at him. "Sorry 'bout this, peck."

"Keep your mouth shut," the soldier barked. He dealt Alfred a vicious backhand blow and dropped the rope, allowing him to fall of the horse with a dull thud. "Told you we'd find them without his help," he added to the others.

More soldiers dismounted, and before Arthur knew what was happening one man was grabbing at Lilli's blanket. "Give me the baby!" he yelled.

"NO!" Arthur struggled as hard as he could but the man simply snatched her away. Lilli began sobbing. "Give her back!" Arthur half begged. He watched despairingly as another man grabbed Lukas and stuffed him inside a sack. Any chance for escape was blocked as the rest encircled the area.

Five more horses rode up, led by the blonde girl from the tavern. The man who'd grabbed the baby walked to her side and held Lilli aloft. She coolly pulled back the blankets and rolled up Lilli's right sleeve, revealing the mark. "This is the one we're looking for," she announced, relief tainting her voice. "We must take it back to Nockmaar."

Alfred and Arthur exchanged glances, the Nelwyn pleading with the Daikini to do…do _something_! Unable to do much of anything laying bound and bloodied on the ground, Alfred settled for glaring viciously at the woman. She noticed the look and sneered. "Lose your skirt?" she asked snidely.

Grunting, Alfred pushed himself up to his feet and staggered over to confront her. He looked up at her and smirked. "I've still got what counts," he half whispered.

"Not for long," she replied in the same tone. Without warning her leg shot out and dealt Alfred a vicious blow under his jaw. Arthur winced as Alfred staggered back, miraculously keeping his feet. Alfred glared at her again, despite his nose and mouth bleeding profusely.

"Bring them all!" the woman commanded, looking bored.

"At once, Lady Natalia," a man called as he grabbed Arthur roughly and started dragging him along. He kept struggling, kicking, even biting as his hands were bound and he was thrown over the back of a horse. Craning his neck awkwardly he could see Alfred being forced onto a horse again and the bag containing Lukas being tied to a saddle.

A sob escaped Arthur's lips. He'd failed… Lilli would be in the clutches of an evil king, and heaven knew what would happen to himself and his friends. Wait… where were the brownies?

* * *

Roderich and Gilbert tried to keep up with the galloping horses but, of course, they were completely hopeless at it. Gilbert let himself flop onto the sand, breathing heavily. "I zhink my lungs are trying to kill me!" he whined. "Ve'll never keep up vith zhose horses…"

Roderich bent over, leaning against his spear. He was grateful that he and his companion had been able to hide before they'd gotten squashed, but in doing so they hadn't been able to hitch a ride. "Zhen ve vill have to track zhem," he said once he'd caught his breath.

"Zhat vould take forever," Gilbert pointed out. It was true, one hoofprint was twice as long as themselves. "Besides, even if ve find zhem, zhey'll probably catch us, stick us in cages, torture us und finally devour us."

"Are you suggesting ve go home?"

Gilbert thought about it for a second. "Nah… zhis is more fun!"

Roderich huffed in exasperation. "Fine zhen. Let's go."

Another rumble of thunder drowned out Gilbert's hissing cackle.

* * *

**Yay! We finally meet our squirrel! Ain't he cute? XD And hoo boy, looks like the gang's in a spot of bother... **


	11. The Escape

**Also Titled: The Dust of Broken Hearts Strikes Again**

* * *

Arthur was practically dead on his feet and coming close to collapsing. As soon as they'd left the valley the soldiers had met up with a larger group. There Arthur and Alfred's ropes were exchanged for iron chains attached to the back of a wagon and Lukas was placed in a wicker cage that hung off one of the wagon walls. Under Natalia's orders they had rode as fast as the wagons and pack horses could go, forcing the captives to practically run or else be dragged. It seemed they were heading up high into the mountains. Arthur had overheard several men talking about a camp up in the snow, along with hushed whispers about "the general". They'd been going like this for most of the day now, and to make matters worse Lilli had spent much of that time crying in the arms of one of the soldiers.

"I'm worried about Lilli, she doesn't sound good," he told Alfred over the noise of the cart's wheels. Alfred nodded in agreement but said nothing.

Lukas gnashed his teeth impatiently. "Practice the chant I taught you!"

Arthur furrowed his brows in concentration, "_Tanna… looatha… _I can't remember the middle bit."

"_Locktwaar_!" Lukas half yelled, gripping the cage bars as the wagon went over a large bump. "The word that pleads for change." He glared at Alfred when he snorted in derision.

"_Locktwaar_," Arthur repeated. "_Tann-_ Oi!" He yelped when Alfred pulled him to the left and took his place at the right side of the road. "What the-?! Is this side of the road bumpier or something, you gi-" his words died when he heard the sound of a horse catching up to them. Natalia rode up from farther down the line and reined in just enough so that she rode alongside them. Alfred must have seen her coming before and deliberately put himself between the vicious woman and the small Nelwyn.

Arthur shuddered a bit as Natalia inspected them coolly, but decided to try and speak up for Lilli's welfare. "Lilli is cold and hungry. She knows me. _Please _let me help her."

"I don't need help from a peck!" Natalia snapped. Her eyes were drawn to Alfred, who was looking at her. Actually, it looked like he was ogling her… "What are you staring at?" she demanded.

Alfred grinned. "Your leg." Arthur and Natalia both eyed him in shock. "I'd like to break it," he added casually.

"You might find that difficult, _slave_, while I'm up here and you're down there," came the icy reply. With another look of contempt she urged her horse into a trot and left them behind.

"I hate that woman," Alfred growled, watching her take a place at the head of the column.

* * *

If Arthur thought the first day of forced marching had been difficult, the second was infinitely worse. The fitful sleep he'd gotten during the night did nothing to help him as they traveled higher and higher. Snow soon covered their trail, adding the discomforts of cold and wet to his growing misery.

Finally, _finally_, the snowbound enemy camp came into sight. Arthur had trouble seeing it, as the sunlight was reflected and intensified by the now waist high snow. He could make out that the mountaintop was rounder than the others and allowed for a gentle slope. Tents made from thick animal hides were littered in ragged rows, campfire smoke floating off in a dozen places. Arthur was concentrating so hard on making out their soon to be prison that he didn't notice the large drift until it was too late. He tripped and fell facedown into the snow, panicking, fearing that he would be dragged the rest of the way without being able to gain his feet. Strong hands pulled him off the snow and high into the air. Before he knew what had happened Alfred had placed him on his shoulders.

From his new vantage point a mysterious sight greeted his eyes. "Who is _that_?"

"Huh?" Alfred looked up. Almost immediately he knew what Arthur meant, a column of six horses was riding out of camp towards their group. At the head of the column, riding a gigantic white horse, was a fearsome looking man. He was tall and broad, his chainmail was emblazoned with Ivan's insignia and covering his entire face was a skull-shaped mask. "I… dunno," Alfred finally admitted, his shrug almost making Arthur fall off.

Natalia grabbed Lilli from the soldier in charge of holding her, cradled her in her arms, and urged her horse into a gallop. She and the warrior met halfway. "I found it, General," Arthur heard her say over Lilli's wails. The general reached out and tugged at the blankets a bit so he could get a better look. "That should make my brother happy," Natalia added, sounding pleased herself.

"What are they going to do to her?" Arthur asked tremulously. Alfred said nothing, but patted his arm consolingly and watched with disgust as the two figures gallop upwards to the camp.

* * *

Alfred waited patiently for the sentry and his monstrosity of a dog to pass them by before once again attacking the lock on their prison. He and Arthur had been stuffed into a small iron cage while Lukas' cage hung from a pole three feet away. Some idiot had left a metal spike and a long branch in Alfred's reach and he'd grabbed both eagerly. He might be able to let Lukas free with the stick, but first he wanted to try and break the tough padlock holding the cage door closed.

"_Hither walha...bairn deru bordak…bellanockt."_

Alfred rolled his eyes as the Nelwyn kept chanting the spell under his breath. According to the talking squirrel, this incantation combined with a spark and the power of the faerie branch was supposed to transform the furry nuisance into a human. Arthur had snagged a broken chip of pottery and was rubbing the edge of the wand against it to make several sparks. The warrior gagged as the smoke from it hit him.

"That's magic? Smells terrible," he snorted. Unexpectedly, the spike snapped in half and his arm banged into one of the bars. He hissed in pain and looked at the padlock. It remained unmoved.

Arthur winced sympathetically and explained. "It's the life spark. It forms after-"

"Well, it stinks!" Alfred whisper yelled, his temper getting the best of him (again). "This whole thing stinks!"

Lukas poked his head out of his tiny cage. "Ignore him. He's a fool."

"If only I had a sword!" Alfred half yelled.

"If only you'd quit going on about it!" Arthur's meager temper was running thin as well.

Lukas chattered to get his attention. "You must turn me into my human self, then we can escape."

Doubt passed over Arthur's features. "But… I'm not ready yet," he mumbled. His failed attempts to use the wand flashed through his mind. He might accidentally make the squirrel explode for heaven's sake!

"You'd better be," was Lukas' reply. He nodded towards Alfred. "Get me down."

Alfred sighed and grabbed the long branch. Maneuvering it gently, he hooked it under the cage and pushed upward. With a quick tug it fell from it's perch and onto the ground, the cage door conveniently bursting open on impact. Alfred was less lucky, the sudden lack of pressure on the branch made him lose balance and jerk forward, his forehead hitting the cage. He barely remembered to keep his yell as quiet as possible as he leaned back and clutched his head. He half glared, half pouted at Arthur. "Why don't you help me get outta here instead of chattering with that muskrat?"

Lukas growled angrily as he squirmed through the bars and joined the two men in the cage. "Idiot. When I'm a Daikini again I will crush this army, and take the little princess to Tir Asleen where she will be safe."

Alfred mimicked his words mockingly and turned his back on them to inspect the padlock again.

Lukas ignored him and, quick as lightning, bit Arthur's finger hard enough to draw blood.

Arthur pulled his hand away and inspected it. Now it was his turn to pout. "Ow! What was that for?!" he demanded.

"You need three drops of your blood to put in the potion," Lukas explained patiently.

"You could have bloody warned me," the Nelwyn mumbled as he spread his blood over the wand.

Alfred scoffed while trying to reach for a rock.

Lukas sat down on his haunches and looked into Arthur's eyes seriously. "For beginners there's some pain, but don't let _anything _break your concentration while performing the spell."

"R-right…" Arthur slowly stood and gripped the wand with both hands. Alfred stopped his efforts and watched as the Nelwyn straightened and closed his eyes in concentration.

"_Hither greenan bairn claideb lunanockt…" _

"Hallo, everybody! Ve have arrived!"

The Daikini, Nelwyn, and squirrel all flinched as Roderich and Gilbert popped out of the snow right next to the cage.

"You are saved!" Gilbert added.

"Shh!" Alfred and Arthur hissed.

Lukas lashed his tail angrily. "Don't interrupt," he chastened.

The brownies ducked down into the tunnel they had spent so long digging.

"_Hither greenan bairn claideb lunanockt…" _Arthur began again. He repeated the chant over and over, feeling the power of the wand gather slowly as he did.

Alfred asked the squirrel snidely, "Whatcha gonna look like if this works?"

Lukas shot him a death glare and stayed silent for a few seconds. However, he soon answered rather proudly, "I am a child, or I was when Ivan transformed me. I discovered my great power when I was three."

A child wizard…That…was really cool! "Concentrate, Arthur!" Alfred encouraged. Arthur opened his eyes long enough to glare before going back to the chant.

"_Hither greenan bairn claideb lunanockt…" _The wand now glowed a pearly blue, and it was getting uncomfortably hot to the touch. Arthur barely had time to wonder if it was working or not before the power suddenly surged through him, blinding his senses. The pain that came from it broke his focus and it was all he could do to keep chanting. It felt like everything under his skin was boiling!

"Arthur! You're losing me!" he vaguely heard Lukas yell.

"_Hither greenan bairn claideb lunanockt!" _ The smell of burning feathers hit his nose, further adding to his disorientation. "_Hither greenan bairn claideb-" _He couldn't continue. The wand dropped from his hands and fell to the snow, hissing. There were burns on his palms and fingers where he'd held the wand.

"You alright?" Alfred asked worriedly. The Nelwyn could only pant in exhaustion. "Well… nice try?" the warrior added lamely

An angry caw drew their attention to Lukas… or, what had once been Lukas. A disgusting ball of fur and feathers lay on the ground, emitting a dreadful stench. A black beak poked through the ball as if it were an egg and a head followed. Soon the body broke free and a crow fluttered out of the grisly mess.

"A farmer!" the crow squawked indignantly. "Why did Elizaveta send me a farmer?" The voice was scratchy but it was definitely Lukas' voice. Arthur sighed in relief. At least he hadn't made the boy explode.

Roderich and Gilbert both shook their head from the safety of their tunnel. "Zhe Nelwyn really butchered zhat one," Gilbert whispered.

Arthur blushed and ducked his head. "I'm sorry, Lukas." The crow ruffled his feathers and said nothing.

Deciding to be proactive, Roderich hopped out again and padded over to the padlock, his tiny weight letting him walk over the snow without sinking. "You vant out?"

Gilbert joined him and inspected the lock. "Easy! Ve can pick a lock!"

Roderich flipped his spear and stuck the blade into the keyhole. Gilbert watched him critically and grabbed for the spear. "You're doing it wrong, zhis vay!"

Slapping his hand away, Roderich snapped sulkily, "I know vhat I'm doing. It's my spear, leave it alone!"

Alfred sighed and leaned forward. "Let me do it! Out of the way, rodents." The brownies staggered back as the warrior brushed them aside with his hand and tried to pick the lock himself.

Though many don't know it, brownie warriors are very protective of their weapons. Since they are so small, their weapons are the best chance they have of survival. A brownie using another's weapon was very, very rude. To have some great, idiotic giant use it was unacceptable.

"Let it go," Roderich said, his voice soft and dangerous.

Alfred ignored him.

Roderich stalked towards him, a murderous intent in his eyes. Grabbing the only weapon he had (the pouch of fairy love dust to be precise) he swung it in the air, his voice raising as he repeated, "Leave that alone you stupid, fat Daikini!" He brought the bag down as hard as he could on Alfred's nose.

"Ow!" Alfred released the spear and sat up, holding his nose. It wasn't that hard of a blow, but it stung a little and some weird sparkly dust went into his eyes and up his nose. No one but the brownies noticed, what with Arthur trying to bribe Lukas' forgiveness with a crust of bread. The brownies giggled between themselves but didn't take it too seriously. After all, there were no women in this camp.

Hearing their laughter, Alfred was tempted for a split second to grab them and squeeze them to death. He was about to threaten them with such a fate when… suddenly his mood changed. He felt… great.

Working together, Roderich and Gilbert unlocked the padlock and pried it open. "You are free!" the albino shouted gleefully.

Arthur finally took notice and gripped Alfred's shoulder. "C'mon, let's get Lilli out of here."

Alfred grinned with pure pleasure. "Yeah, it'll be fun!"

Arthur rolled his eyes. "Right, let's go." He looked at the sky, which was now turning a pale grey with the approaching dawn. They needed to hurry.

The group of unlikely heroes set out across the camp as quietly as they could. Their objective was the large pavilion in the center of it all, the place Lilli was most likely to be. As they went, Arthur noticed that Alfred was lagging behind and seemed distracted. Alfred, for his part, was enjoying the fresh mountain breeze and the beautiful sight of all the sparkling snow…

"Alfred, are you alright?"

Alfred snapped out of his daze momentarily. "Wha-huh? Yeah." He sat down in the snow. "I feel… good."

Gilbert eyed Roderich accusingly. "Zhe dust of broken hearts."

Roderich winced.

With no small amount of luck, they made it to the pavilion without anyone noticing them. Alfred once again sat down and grinned for no reason while Arthur peeked through a gap in the tent wall. The brownies tried to get a look as well.

"Let me see!"

"Let _me _see. You alvays see."

"_I _am in charge!"

Arthur ignored them as best he could as he looked in. The pavilion was dark inside, and there were two piles of furs. The bigger pile was on the far side and Arthur couldn't see who slept in it, probably Natalia or that scary general. On the smaller pile, nearer them, was-

He shoved Alfred again to get his attention. "There's Lilli, right there on those furs."

Alfred looked as well and saw the babe right where Arthur pointed. Both could hear her sad cries.

"It's a good thing for you zhe dust of broken hearts doesn't work on babies or make people fall in love vith babies," Gilbert commented dryly.

Roderich sniffed. "Of course, infants are completely innocent in such matters."

Again ignoring them, Arthur started to go inside, only to be pushed back by Alfred.

Almost back to his old self, the Daikini stated, "Only one of us should go in there. I've got… experience sneaking around. I know what I'm doing." Arthur reluctantly nodded. The last time he'd trusted this man solely with Lilli's welfare he'd lost her in less than an hour.

Squirming through the gap, Alfred crept over to Lilli as silently as a shadow, barely rustling the straw that had been laid on the floor. As soon as she saw him, Lilli quieted and grinned. Alfred grinned back and spared a quick glance towards the bigger pile of furs. From this vantage, he could now see it was Natalia who slept there. He turned to grab Lilli and leave… then turned back towards Natalia. The magic he'd inhaled did it's work and all he could do was stare at the girl.

She did indeed look beautiful. Her pale hair was loose around her face and the white nightgown she wore gave her an angelic look as the lantern light hit her just so. Alfred stood and slowly walked towards her.

The brownies looked and each other. "Uh oh…"

Meanwhile, Arthur had no idea what the sodding idiot was doing! "Wait! No! No!" he whispered. "Alfred, Lilli's right-!"

The Daikini paid him no heed as he slowly leaned over the sleeping figure. His face only a foot from hers, Alfred leaned in to kiss those soft looking lips. He pulled back shyly, the spell making him less confident than he usually was when wooing women.

"I love you," he told Natalia softly.

"Alfred! What are you doing?!" Arthur asked, louder this time.

"Take zhe baby and go!" Gilbert yelled.

The mention of Lilli's plight seemed to remind Alfred of his mission and he reluctantly leaned away. He got halfway to the babe before the spell affected him stronger than before and he turned back to gaze at Natalia, putting both hands over his heart. "Oh, Natalia..." he sighed.

Arthur facepalmed while the brownies groaned. They'd seen other men under the influence and knew the next few minutes would be unbearably sappy.

Becoming bolder, Alfred reached out a hand to cup Natalia's face. "Wake from this hateful sleep, it deprives me of your beauty…"

That was it. Arthur was done. The Nelwyn quickly crept into the tent and scurried over to the baby.

"The beauty of your eyes…" Alfred sighed as he leaned over again.

Without warning Natalia awoke. Too fast for the eye to catch, she had a knife pressed to his stomach. "One move, jackass, and you really will be a woman," she snarled, pushing him back.

"You are my sun! My moon! My starlit sky," Alfred continued, undaunted. He approached her again fearlessly. "Without you I dwell in darkness."

Natalia looked unimpressed but on the inside she was a mess. No man had ever looked at her like how this prisoner was looking at her. It was… it was incredible! It was almost as if he truly adored her. That was ridiculous of course, he was obviously trying to unsettle her… and dammit, it was working. Her cheeks were flushed and her heart was thumping like mad. She tried to conquer that feeling by pressing her knife against his throat. He shouldn't even be here in the first place! How had he escaped?

"I love you!" he repeated.

Dammit, dammit, dammit! Natalia's arms shook. Neither Daikini noticed as Arthur grabbed Lilli and snuck out of the tent.

"What are you doing here?" she asked.

Alfred held up his arms, besotted. "Your power has enchanted me and I stand helpless against it." He gently pushed aside the knife. "Tonight, let me worship you in my arms!"

Natalia backed away quickly. "Get away from me!"

"I love you!"

She pressed the blade to the side of his neck again. "Stop saying that!"

Alfred grabbed her free arm fearlessly and used it to pull her closer. "How can I stop the beating of my heart? It pounds like never before!"

"Out of fear." she spat, pushing him once more.

"Out of love," he responded, pulling them even closer. Their noses touched and Natalia panicked.

"I can stop it! I'll kill you!" For once, she felt this was a threat she could not fulfill.

Alfred smiled euphorically. "Death next to love is a trivial thing." He glanced down and smiled even more. Without either of them noticing, Natalia had laid her hand over Alfred's heart. "Your touch is worth one hundred thousand deaths."

Ever so slowly, Natalia let the knife lower. Tentatively, she leaned towards him and for a moment she thought they would kiss-

"What goes on here?" a deep voice bellowed.

The almost lovers whipped their heads around as the General barged in, dragging Arthur behind him. He shoved the Nelwyn inside, forcing Arthur to fall awkwardly to avoid crushing Lilli in his arms.

Natalia backed away from Alfred's arms, looking from Arthur to the empty pile of furs to Alfred again. Tears of rage and embarrassment stung her eyes as she glared at the enemy.

"Deceiver!" she yelled, raising the dagger above her head to plunge it into his lying, cold heart.

Luckily, Alfred was a good enough warrior to rely on instinct, not conscious thought. He let himself fall backwards, kicking the knife out of her hand as he did so. Alfred rolled to one side and grabbed Natalia's sword from where it rested by her bed.

"Stop him!" the general yelled. Before either could do anything Alfred cut through the pole in the middle of the tent, causing the roof to collapse. Just before it did so, he grabbed Natalia again and kissed her passionately before letting her go to make his escape. Everyone inside scrambled to get out of the now stifling cloth. Arthur, being closest to the edge, got out first. Alfred was next, simply cutting an opening for himself.

Some early bird soldiers saw and rushed towards him, drawing their swords. Alfred grinned, this time in a barbaric fashion, and swung his sword as hard as he could, cutting the closest man's legs just below the knees and making him drop like a stone. The second man got stabbed in the stomach while the third got his throat slit.

Arthur's jaw dropped as he observed all of this. "You _are _great!" he exclaimed.

Alfred chuckled and decided to show off some more by flipping the sword into the air and catching it…. and then he slipped on some ice and fell on his back. That wasn't totally bad, however, as it drew his eyes to a possible escape route. "Get on that shield!" he yelled, pointing to a circular metal shield.

Arthur immediately caught on, the other slope of the mountain wasn't easy like the one they'd climbed up, it was steep and smooth. They could glide away using this shield as a sled, he thought as he climbed onto it. Of course… this was assuming Alfred would stop fighting those men and just get over there!

Killing the last man in the vicinity with a quick jab to the heart, Alfred ran over to Arthur and Lilli. He saw the pavilion move and Natalia climb out. The spell infected him one last time and he paused, indecision written all over his face. "Natalia!" he called to her. She stared dumbly at him, unsure what to think.

"After them!" the general yelled, finally getting free.

Alfred, seeing the peril, decided to leave her behind and get Lilli to safety, though it made his heart ache. He jumped on behind Arthur and pushed the shield enough to make it go down the hill. They both yelled as it rapidly picked up speed and shot away from the camp.

Natalia watched them go and decided on one thing. They _would _meet again and she _would _get some answers out of that man. What had the peck called him? Alfred?

Meanwhile, the brownies had once again been left behind.

"Vhere did everybody go?" Roderich asked as the soldiers chased down the mountain after the sled.

"Maybe it vas somezhing ve said," Gilbert guessed.

* * *

**Alfred... *shakes head* This was sooooo awkward to write. I hope y'all appreciate it.**


	12. The Allies

**Also Titled: Shh! Keep the Baby Quiet! **

* * *

The ride down was, in a word, perilous. First, they had to dodge all the tents and campfires below them. Alfred actually had the nerve to laugh as soldiers jumped out of their way. Then came the very, VERY steep drop. Arthur yelled as they crashed against a rock and ricocheted in a different direction… and off a giant cliff, miraculously landing safely.

Lilli giggled the whole way down.

After maneuvering through an ice tunnel and falling off _another _cliff Arthur was quite ready to strangle Alfred for suggesting such a stupid escape once they stopped. Luckily for the Daikini, he fell off the sled during the second cliff fall and ended up rolling down the mountain after them, collecting snow as he went.

Arthur, realizing that he was now the one steering, tried to guide it towards a tiny village he could see at the base of the mountain. Unfortunately, he steered it a little too well.

A woman leaving her cottage screamed as the sled shot past her and crashed into the kitchen table. Arthur sat up quickly and checked on Lilli, brushing snow from her blanket. She smiled and yawned back at him. He saw the woman peeking at them from the doorway and waved to her apologetically. Wait… Alfred should be the one apologizing!

He got to his feet and ran to the door, looking in the direction they'd just come from. A large snowball - no, it was more like a cylinder of snow really - was careening towards the cottage at a fantastic rate. A pair of booted legs sticking out one end brought clarity to the baffling situation. "The stupid git!" Arthur yelled, slamming the door and retreating with Lilli behind the tipped over table. The woman screamed again and ran away, again in the nick of time, as the snowy missile crashed against the wall and broke apart.

Alfred, freed from his prison, scrambled to get out, kicking up bits of snow and ice in every direction. Arthur opened the door again and watched him stonily as the warrior wiped snow from his eyes and clutched at his aching head. One good thing about this freak accident was that it seemed to clear his mind from any remaining effects of the love spell…

"What the hell happened up there?" he demanded groggily, swaying a little.

Oh, of all the- The tosser couldn't even REMEMBER?!

"You started spouting poetry," Arthur snapped. He was glad that a crowd of townsfolk were gathering, they were witnesses to Alfred's stupidity!

Alfred looked down at the Nelwyn in utter confusion. "Poetry?"

"Yes! 'I love you, Natalia. I worship you, Natalia!'" He kicked some snow at Alfred. "You almost got us killed!"

"'I love you, Natalia'?" Alfred repeated. He shook his head in denial and stepped away. "No way! Nuh uh! I don't love her. She kicked me in the face! I hate her!" Confusion swept over his face again and he clutched his head again. "...Don't I?"

A loud squawk interrupted Arthur's retort and they both looked up in time to see Lukas land on a thatched roof. "The general!" he croaked.

"Nockmaar soldiers!" a villager called out in a panicked voice. Sure enough, a column of black riders was racing down the mountain to attack the humble town. The people scattered to their homes while Arthur just looked on in shock. He was so tired of this…

Alfred, however, snapped into action, his instincts once again working to his advantage. He grabbed a man passing by and, hoping he wouldn't betray him, said, "Hey, those guys are after us! We need a place to hide!"

The man looked him up and down in a second and nodded. "Follow me. Quick!" Alfred grabbed the dazed Arthur and pulled him along as the man led him to a tiny hut near the outskirts of the village. The man kicked a rug aside, revealing a trap door. Alfred opened it and went down the set of stairs into a giant hidden cellar, Arthur close behind. The sight of a man clad in armor made Alfred pause at the bottom step. The two Daikini inspected one another before the warrior let Alfred pass, barely noticing Arthur. The villager quickly closed the door behind them and placed the rug carefully over it.

Alfred looked around the basement; there were almost fifty men crammed into the space, all of them carrying weapons and all of them looking defeated. He yelped as a large hand clapped him on the shoulder and spun him around. Blue eyes and an overly friendly grin greeted him.

"I knew you'd get out of that rattrap," Matthias chuckled.

Alfred grinned back… before grabbing Matthias and slamming him against a wall. "You left me to die, Matthias!" he hissed.

Matthias scowled and pushed him back. "I probably _saved _your life. We were slaughtered and I lost a lot of good men-"

"Shh! Quiet!" the man standing near the trapdoor called. They all stilled, noticing that it had gotten too quiet outside. With a sudden crash the door was kicked open and Natalia stormed into the room above them. Her boots, along with several other soldiers, made dust dislodge itself from the floorboards and fall onto the hiding group. In the distance they could hear the general yelling.

"Tear this village apart! Look everywhere! Find the child!"

Lilli whimpered and nuzzled her head closer to Arthur. Without warning one of the soldiers above flipped a table over. The crash startled the babe and she started crying lustily. Though the sound was somewhat muffled, Natalia heard and immediately drew her sword. Luckily, Lukas had the bright idea to fly into the hut. He cawed loudly and flew around, scaring the men and making Natalia so flustered that Arthur had time to calm Lilli down. Natalia swiped at the crow irritably but he flew out the door again.

Thundering hoofbeats got louder and louder until they suddenly stopped. "Captain Natalia!" the general called, right above Arthur's head. Between the cracks in the floor Alfred could see the woman stand to attention. "I search the north bank, you will remain here." Natalia grimaced, but saluted. The hoofbeats started up again, only to fade away this time. All the while Alfred kept staring at Natalia.

Now, Alfred honestly couldn't remember what had happened in that tent, but from the glares Arthur was giving him he guessed it had been bad or embarrassing. Possibly both. _I love you, Natalia_… Ugh, that woman was the devil incarnate! Sure she was pretty - no, more like beautiful - but that was the only good thing about her! She was cruel, demanding, mysterious, intriguing- er, vicious! Even he wasn't stupid enough to be attracted to someone like that, right? …Oh boy…

Natalia, meanwhile, watched as her soldiers searched the tiny house, looking through the furs on the bed, checking the fireplace. Her gaze wandered up to the ceiling but there was nothing to be found on the rafters. She looked down at the rug under her feet. It wasn't under the table, near the fireplace or next to the bed. It was just… there. It might have been thrown their carelessly if not for the fact that it had obviously been spread out with great care. Curiously, she stepped off it and shoved it away with one foot. Underneath was a small trapdoor. Well then.

Beneath her Alfred and Matthias silently panicked for a second before backing up and hiding around the corner, motioning for the other soldiers to do the same. As the last on hid himself the door opened and an ironshod, snow dusted boot could be seen on the first step. Matthias quickly handed a long knife to Alfred as Natalia's shadow came closer. She, for her part, was cautious. The cellar looked to be large yet empty, but she paused at the bottom of the small flight of stairs. It was totally silent. Alfred saw the tip of her long, serrated sword as she held it before her defensively. He waited just a bit longer, until her arm could be seen, before he moved.

Grabbing her wrist in a viselike grip, he pulled her to him until her back was to his chest and his knife was to her throat. She let out a low scream and struggled until Alfred squeezed her wrist so hard she was forced to drop the sword. Two soldiers behind her lurched forward at the sound of her distress, only to freeze when they saw their captain in danger.

"Back." Alfred's voice was cold, colder than Arthur had ever heard, as he commanded the two men. They hesitated, only to flinch and comply when he shouted, "Back!" and pressed the blade to Natalia's neck so hard it was close to drawing blood. They backed up the stairs slowly, their eyes on Alfred, and he followed, forcing an unwilling Natalia along. Arthur quickly trotted behind him. Matthias caught sight of Lilli in his arms and warned, "Keep the baby quiet."

Arthur pursed his lips in annoyance. "She needs to be changed."

Matthias rolled his eyes and pushed him up the stairs. The two men had been forced to a corner while Alfred seemed to be having trouble with his hostage.

"Nockmaar scum!" Alfred hissed, struggling to keep her still. Of course, Natalia gave him as much hell as possible, twisting and jerking despite the knife at her throat.

"You'll never defeat us! Give up the baby!" she yelled.

"Shut up!"

Arthur set Lilli down on a pile of furs near the fire to change her, shaking his head at the two. To think they'd been kissing less than an hour ago!

Matthias quickly shut the door windows to avoid detection from the other soldiers searching. He leaned against the doorframe and looked from Natalia to Lilli. "What does Ivan want with the kid, anyway?"

"She's a princess. We're taking her to Tir Asleen," Arthur answered.

A look of shock dominated Matthias' features for a second, before being replaced with one of condescension and disbelief. "Tir Asleen?" He laughed and walked over to Arthur, towering over him. "Even if you could find it, peck, she's right - you'd never get past the Nockmaar army."

Arthur shook his head. "There's an even bigger army at Tir Asleen if we can just get there." There _had _to be an army, right? Elizaveta and Lukas both said she would be safe there.

A woman screamed outside and Matthias hurried to a window, looking out on the carnage and destruction their enemy was doing to the town. Alfred practically dragged Natalia with him and knelt next to Matthias, peeking out. Matthias spoke quietly, but his words carried weight. "I've lost more than half my men fighting Ivan." He jerked his head towards Arthur and asked his ex-friend, "Now you and this peck are gonna take him on? You always told me you served no one, Alfred. Remember? Right before you spit in the General's face and left?" He glanced at Natalia and added, "Not your general." Arthur saw Alfred wince.

"Since when are you a crusader?" Matthias demanded.

Alfred was silent.

Arthur flinched when Matthias' dark blue eyes bored into his. "He's not gonna help you, peck. He's a worthless thief." He grunted and stood up, leaving them to ready his bow.

"I'm not a thief, Matthias," Alfred growled, finally finding his voice. Matthias snorted.

Arthur was quick to defend him. "He's not a thief." Matthias smiled, but it wasn't a nice smile. Arthur looked at Alfred uncertainly. "Are you?" he asked.

Alfred looked at him but didn't answer. The pause was just a bit too long. Lilli's eyes flickered to the warrior. With a suddenness that surprised them all, Alfred hauled Natalia to their feet and faced Arthur.

"I serve the Nelwyn, Matthias."

Lilli cooed while Arthur grinned in relief. Shock once again overcame Matthias and he strode over to the warrior, blinking as if to make sure that he was looking at the real Alfred F. Jones and not some imposter. Didn't he have a twin brother…?

Alfred grinned in his usual devil-may-care way. "Wanna come with us?"

"You'll never make it, Alfred." There was a touch of respect in Matthias' tone.

Alfred gave a half bow, or tried to at least. "Then once again we say goodbye." He hurried to the door and Arthur followed, hurriedly wrapping the blankets around Lilli again. With a soldier's eye Alfred assessed the situation. The soldiers were busy with other houses across the street and Natalia's horse stood was tied with two others just outside the door. Checking to make sure the Nelwyn was by his side, Alfred pushed the door open and made a beeline for the horses. Miraculously, Arthur was able to get on one without being detected. Alfred, however, was not so lucky.

Natalia was forced onto her own horse and in the moment where both of Alfred's hands were occupied with mounting behind her she shouted, "OVER HERE!" at the top of her lungs. Alfred quickly pressed the blade to her throat and she fell silent. Most of her troop's attention was caught and they all rushed forward.

Alfred turned the horse so all could see her predicament. "Weapons down or she's dead!"

Natalia was both touched and mortified as all her men dropped their weapons.

She watched, shamefaced, as the peck rode ahead of them, escaping the village. The brute kept his knife to her throat as he guided her horse with one hand and his legs, following the peck. The twang of bows caught her attention and she twisted her head to look behind them. Matthias and his ragtag gang had sprung out of hiding to attack her men, rallying the villagers to do the same. Any hope of her men following them died as they were besieged.

Alfred chuckled. "I knew it," she heard him whisper as they rode down the mountain slope.

Above them a crow circled once, curiously, above Matthias' head and then followed the two riders.

* * *

**Matthias is back! Woot! And gasp! We get some back-story on Alfred! For those of you who've seen the movie and are wondering, "Wut, I don't remember this..." Weeeell I'm adding some bits. The next chapter will probably have the most changes to the story, but like I said nothing major. Just fleshing out bits and pieces. **


	13. The Rock Maze

**Also Titled: More Filler, But This Time There's Fluff~**

* * *

The journey down the mountain was decidedly much more pleasant than the trip up, especially since they were riding horses. In a shorter time than Arthur imagined they'd left the snow behind them and had found a path out of the mountain range. For two days they'd ridden as hard as they dared, knowing that they had to get as big a head start as possible. Matthias' ambush may have bought them some time, but neither Arthur or Alfred wanted to be captured by the Nockmaar army a second time.

Speaking of those two days, the first night had been… difficult. Finding somewhere to rest the night had been fine, but…

"What are we going to do with her?" Lukas had croaked, pointing a wing towards Natalia.

There'd been a debate but eventually they'd tied her to a tree for the night. It made Arthur uncomfortable, what with him being raised to treat all women respectfully, but the conversation between Natalia and Alfred had been even more so.

"Worthless, lying bastard," Natalia had hissed as Alfred tied her to a trunk with some rope.

Alfred responded by jerking the rope a bit tighter than needed. "Yeah, well, maybe tonight you can think about all the lives you and your king have ruined."

The platinum blonde lifted her chin into the air. "Those people brought it upon themselves, breaking treaties with my big brother."

Alfred had circumnavigated the trunk to look at her. "What the hell are you talking about? And what's so special about your brother that King Ivan would care about him?"

"My big brother _is _King Ivan."

And it had gone downhill from there. Arthur had sat huddled by the fire, covering Lilli's ears as the screaming match commenced. It had gotten so bad that Lukas flew off to find a quieter perch.

The second day, Arthur reflected, had been a bit better. Again Natalia was tied to a trunk, but Alfred was more curious than angry that day.

"You said other kingdoms had broken some promise with Ivan, what's that about, _princess_?" he asked, pronouncing her title as if it were some kind of profanity.

Natalia eyed him coldly. "A few years ago our land had a bad harvest and it seemed that the people would suffer that winter. My brother quickly made treaties with other, more bountiful countries, agreeing to exchange money for enough provisions to feed our people. The other kingdoms, including Galadoorn-" She'd paused and twisted her lips. Arthur saw Alfred's fists tighten but he'd said nothing. "...They never fulfilled their side of the bargain," she finished. "Many poor families starved to death, in the castle we barely had enough to eat ourselves, and..." Her midnight eyes flashed in the firelight. "Your people are scum, preying off my people's weakness."

Alfred had been quiet for a while before sitting on a nearby log and responding. "I think I know what you're talking about. But the way I heard it, Ivan hid the food away somewhere and kept it for himself and his army, leavin' everyone else to fend for themselves. The next spring he used that better fed, better trained army to attack for no reason."

"Liar! How can someone shunned by his own people be trusted!" Natalia had spat.

"If your brother's so good, why's he having you chase after a baby?!"

Lilli chose that moment to coo and wave her arms in an adorable manner. Natalia had no answer and turned her head away. The rest of the night was passed in an awkward silence, though Lukas stayed with them that time.

Now, on the morning of the third day, Lukas had led the little party off the path and into a sparsely wooded area. Arthur looked around nervously, these trees had a sickly feeling to them. The thick morning mist didn't help matters. After about five miles travel through this forest, it came to an abrupt halt. Arthur gaped.

Before them the land dipped into a gigantic canyon. No, it wasn't a canyon…

"It's a maze!" Alfred hooted, excitement evident in his eyes. Great rocky projections jutted up, dividing the way into multiple twisting paths, most of which were invisible due to the fog.

"I… don't suppose we have to go in there?" Arthur asked.

Lukas landed on a tree branch. "Tir Asleen lies on the other side."

"Of course it does."

* * *

From her place sitting in front of Alfred, Natalia sat almost passively, her mind whirling in confusion. The man's words about what had happened that terrible winter were shaking her confidence in her own kin! He had to be lying, Ivan would never do something so horrible! If the bastard had known what they had lost that winter-! Sure her brother was cold and distant, but wasn't it better for a king to rule logically than be controlled by his emotions? Eliminating a threat to the kingdom, even if it was just a baby, was a justifiable course of action, right?

She took in a deep breath and struggled to pull her mind back into the present. The talking crow was leading her captors to Tir Asleen. She'd almost laughed aloud when the peck had mentioned it in the tiny hut. Didn't they know-

Nevermind.

"Who is the General?" she asked, almost in a conversational manner. A smirk spread over her face when Alfred jumped, one of his arms tightening around her waist.

"What do you mean?"

She twisted around to look at him, just managing to meet one of his sky blue eyes. "You know, the one whose face you spat on."

Alfred grimaced. "Back when I was training to be a soldier in Galadoorn, when I was just a kid really, there was a general who oversaw our training. There were other generals of course, but to us he was _the _general. Everyone respected him, and he cared about us." There was a long paused and Alfred's next breath sounded shaky, though his voice did not. "Then I decided to take a… different path. I appropriated some valuables and left, but not before the General and Matthias tracked me down and confronted me. It didn't end well, and I had to run away-"

"Not before spitting on him I'm guessing?"

"Shut up, princess. Anyway… I found out a bit later that he'd been accused of high treason by one of his rivals and… was killed. It wasn't until after the execution that he was proven innocent."

Natalia's heart inexplicably ached for the unknown man, the injustice of it pulling out her compassion even though he'd served one of her enemies. "That is unfortunate," she whispered.

"Yeah, General Carriedo didn't deserve it."

Sighing softly, Natalia faced forward again, wiggling a bit. Alfred's grip tightened again and any pity she felt for him evaporated. "You're holding me too tight!"

"Well, I don't want you to get away," he grumbled, reminding her of something.

"Why? Because I'm your sun, your moon, your starlit sky?" she mocked bitingly. That was right, she was supposed to hate this deceiving, shameless, handsome- _loathsome _man! She turned her head and inadvertently her silky hair rubbed against Alfred's chin and cheek.

"Get your hair outta my face before I chop it off," he commanded gruffly, jerking her so that her head rested against his left shoulder and out of his line of vision. She hated being pressed up against him like this.

They rode for a few more paces before he asked warily, "Did I really-... Did I really say those things that night? In your tent."

"You said you loved me," Natalia accused. _And I was stupid enough to believe you. _

"Dude, I honestly don't remember that-"

"You lied to me!" Damn her voice for cracking!

Alfred struggled to explain that weird, blissful sensation he'd felt just before his memory drew up a blank. "No, I- I just wasn't myself that night."

"I suppose my power enchanted you and you were helpless against it, yes?"

"Sort of…?"

"Then what?"

"...It went away."

Natalia stiffened with indignation. "It went away? 'I dwell in darkness without you,' and it went away?!" her voice rose in pitch and volume, making Alfred cringe back. She felt him nod and used that perfect opportunity to elbow the mudak as hard as she could in the stomach. There was a satisfying yelp of pain, all the air was forced out of Alfred's lungs and his arms left her waist completely. She nimbly hopped off the horse and began running full speed in the other direction.

She'd barely gone a hundred yards when the pounding of feet behind her grew loud and insanely powerful arms tackled her, pulling her down. Alfred grappled with her for a few seconds on the ground before he got a good grip on her arms and pinned them down. Ahead of them Arthur heard the commotion and stopped to see what was going on. Natalia glared up at Alfred, hating him all the more for his strength and the fact that he was so easily making her defenseless.

The enemies stared at each other, taking in each other's face. It was the first real opportunity either had gotten to do so. Alfred noticed a faint scar on Natalia's chin just below her full lips. Natalia noticed with interest that a tuft of Alfred's hair completely defied gravity.

A loud squawk from Lukas interrupted them. "I see the General! Hurry!" He was looking some distance behind them from one of the rock spires.

Alfred grunted as he pulled her to her feet and tried to drag her back to the horse. Now though, with no knife to play a factor and emboldened by the thought of reinforcements, Natalia struggled tooth and nail to break free.

"Alfred! Just let her go!" Arthur shouted. "We need to go!"

Natalia yelped as Alfred literally lifted her up into the air, her legs flailing. A good punch to the jaw made him tumble over and she broke free a second time. Wasting no time she started running again, knowing he would have to choose between her capture and his freedom.

"Alfred, come on!" Arthur begged.

Alfred shuffled forward a few steps before skidding to a stop. He didn't want her to get away, but time was of the essence. Finally, agonizingly, he ran back to the horse, motioning for Arthur to go ahead.

Pausing at a turn in the canyon, Natalia looked back at Alfred. Now mounted, he looked back at her. Something indefinable passed between them.

Looking back only once more, Natalia turned and ran back down the path. Alfred let out a tiny sigh and urged his horse on.

* * *

"This way!"

A loud, booming voice just ahead made Natalia stop. The thundering of many hooves grew louder and soon an scouting party led by the General rounded a corner. She waited as the General slowed his mount until he was beside her. He looked her up and down slowly, and she was unable to get an idea of his emotions behind the skull mask.

"They're headed to Tir Asleen, General," she reported. A rippling laugh from the scouts confirmed what she'd heard. Ivan had-

"You will wait here until the main force comes. We have no extra horses for you," the General commanded. Natalia nodded quickly, saving her disgust for the man from showing on her face until he and his group had rode by. She sat down on a rock and waited.

* * *

**Betrayal! Scandal! Drama! Various other plot devices! **

**Yeah, I felt the story needed more of that. I'm sorry, those of you who've seen the movie, if you don't like the changes, but... screw it. It's my story.**

**(And I get the feeling that when we finally do find out who the General is, all of your guesses will be completely incorrect. XD)  
**


	14. The Cursed Castle

**Also Titled: Two Against An Army? Seems Legit. **

* * *

Arthur had imagined the forest beyond the canyon to be as sickly as the one before. He was pleasantly surprised to find an open grassland waiting for them with little islands of healthy trees scattered about. Directly ahead of them rose a gigantic light grey castle, the afternoon sun casting a faint glow over it like the proverbial beacon of hope that it was.

"Tir Asleen!" Lukas crowed, soaring above the two horses.

As they got closer Arthur admired the huge structure, the many towers, the thick-looking walls, and the imposing main keep peeping over the top of the walls. Alfred however noticed the fact that no man patrolled the wall tops and that most of the towers looked to be in a state of disrepair.

They entered the open portcullis and traveled through the gatehouse without incident. It wasn't until they approached the open main gates that Arthur had any inclination that something was wrong. Alfred looked distrustfully at the open wooden doors. They were warped and old, with boards missing here and there. He looked around at the courtyard. Not a soul other than themselves was to be seen and the whole place had a desolate feeling to it. Scattered around the area were black boulders, long and thin. Arthur gulped as he looked upwards. The bridges above them connecting the keep to the walls looked unsafe and the flags hanging from the towers were tattered to shreds.

Alfred dismounted first, wandering around. "Hello?" he yelled, his voice echoing against the stones. He approached one of the black stones. "Hello!" The wind whistled. He leaned his hand against the stone, looking around some more. He was about to pound the rock in frustration when he finally got a good look and the rock. There was a face in there! A human face twisted with fear and agony! He yelped and backed away, looking the stone up and down. His eyes widened in horror as he realized that a whole human being had been trapped in the rock. Alfred looked around again, finally noticing the human silhouettes in all the boulders. Arthur came up behind him, carrying Lilli, and simply gaped in shock. He flinched when the Daikini turned on him angrily.

"Why did I listen to you, peck?" Alfred made his voice high pitched and mocking. "'Everything will be alright once we get to Tir Asleen'." He scoffed and pointed to the gate. "The only army around here in the one about to ride across the valley and wipe us out!"

* * *

The General pulled his mount to a stop and the rest of his group followed suit. Just across the valley lay the ruined castle. Behind the helmet he grinned.

"We will wait here for the rest. They're not going anywhere."

* * *

"But Elizaveta said we'd be safe here!" Arthur reasoned.

* * *

The Faerie Queen's forehead creased with worry as one of her scouts gave their report.

"It's been so long since I've visited, I just assumed… Oh dear."

* * *

"Safe? Dude, look at these guys! This place is cursed, peck. It's falling apart, open your eyes! And it-" A squishing sound beneath Alfred's foot made him look down. He'd stepped into a fresh pile of excrement. He disgustedly shook it off and cursed under his breath. "Trolls," he finally said, hammering in the final nail to their hope's coffin.

Arthur looked up at the bridges again, more nervous than ever. "I hate trolls…" he muttered. They were hairy, filthy beasts that had plagued his village when he was small. He'd almost been carried off by one of them only to be saved by his elder brothers.

Lukas alighted on one of the stones and said what they were all thinking. "This is the work of Ivan!"

Alfred shook his head and walked towards the keep, leaving the wizard, the crow, and the baby behind.

Arthur looked around uncertainly. He was about to follow Alfred when Lukas croaked, "Arthur, the wand. Turn me back into a human."

"...Are you sure?"

* * *

The General barely spared Natalia a glanced as she pulled up alongside him. Behind her came two hundred men, more than enough to finish the job.

"Prepare your men, we attack immediately."

Natalia paused. "Sir?"

An annoyed grunt.

She pressed on. "Back during the winter when we were betrayed… did the army have more to eat than everyone else?"

"How does this pertain to what we are doing?"

"I just-"

"Of course our soldiers had extra rations, they protected our country after all."

Natalia nodded, trying to ignore the fact that her superior sounded oddly evasive.

* * *

Alfred grunted as he pushed the doors to the armory open. His eyes lit up at the sight of all the dusty yet still usable weapons. Tir Asleen must have had a large army to require such an extensive amount of crossbows, spears, maces, and _swords_. Soooo many swords! He laughed as he flitted from one rack of weaponry to another. The walls were still strong, he'd seen catapults on the towers and if he had time to set up traps… They might make it out of this.

A richly adorned black and gold suit of armor caught his eye. This was obviously made for a king.

"Well, don't mind if I do…"

* * *

"Hurry up and transform me," Lukas snapped, shuffling his feet in the dirt.

Arthur petulantly bounced Lilli with one hand and tried not to pout. "I can't do it. I'm just not a sorcerer."

The crow fluttered onto a fallen wooden beam. "You can be. Speak and be one with the words."

Arthur gritted his teeth and raised the wand with his free hand. He still remember the awful, blood boiling pain. Quickly remembering the new spell Lukas had taught him in the maze, he began chanting.

"_Avalorium, greenan, luatha, tye-" _

Just as the wand began to glow and his fingers started to ache a thundering broke his concentration. He looked away, not noticing that Lukas was growing and his feathers turning white. No, he was much more interested in the Nockmaar army he saw riding up to the open gate. He yelled into the keep, "Alfred! The General's coming!"

"You idiot!" a voice baaed. Arthur turned back to Lukas… and saw a billy goat.

"Lukas?" At least he hadn't exploded.

"Arthur, arm that catapult up there!" Alfred yelled, pointing up to walls. The ruddy idiot was decked out like some general himself! Thoroughly bewildered, Arthur obediently climbed the stairs.

Meanwhile, Alfred rushed to the gate. There was no time to try and make the rusty portcullis mechanism work, so he braced his feet against the wall and tried to close the wooden doors that usually wouldn't budge for less than three men. Desperation and his ridiculous strength pushed the first door closed. A quick peek out revealed the army to be almost on top of them. He practically rammed into the next door, forcing it closed. He grabbed the giant wooden beam that would fit into the slots on both doors to seal it. His arms trembled against the weight. It sounded as if the army would burst through at any second. With one last yell he slammed the beam into place, effectively locking the gates. There were hurried shouts of "Whoa!" and even the sound of a panicked horse from beyond the gate.

Alfred laughed through a crack in one of the doors, looking right into Natalia's angry gaze.

Lukas trotted up to him. "Good work, idiot."

"What the hell happened to you?!"

* * *

Natalia glared at the laughing blue eyes before the General started snapping out orders.

"Natalia, get a battering ram!"

* * *

Alfred rolled a barrel out of the keep and past the murky pond nearby. This would be essential for his first trap.

* * *

Natalia located a straight, tall tree and pointed to it with her sword. "Cut it down!"

As her men went to work her thoughts wandered to the terrible winter. There had been barely any food. Her cheeks had sunken in and her ribs had been prominent. Her sister… she bit her lip.

She didn't like thinking about her sister. It hurt too much.

"Faster!" she yelled.

* * *

Struggling greatly, Arthur loaded the catapult with rocks.

"Turn the catapult so it faces inside!" Alfred called, dragging spare helmets up the stairs and heading towards another catapult.

"Inside?!"

"Yeah, that gate won't hold for long." The warrior eyed him seriously. "When they start attacking the gate, get into the keep and barricade yourself in a room with Lils."

* * *

The tree finally went down and everyone else got to work chopping off the limbs.

Natalia suddenly remembered how calm her brother had been through it all, how decisive and kingly he'd looked. How… well fed... he'd looked…

* * *

Alfred practically cackled as he ran around the keep, setting up the bear traps he'd found. Arthur, standing on the bridge and looking down, shook his head in amusement.

They both paused when they heard a deep _BOOM _accompanied by the cracks and creaking of old wood. The battering ram was ready.

Remembering Alfred's instructions he hurried across the bridge to the door that led inside the keep. He had no way of knowing that a disgusting black figure was following his progress, clinging to the underside of the bridge boards, nor that another was watching from atop the keep.

_BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. _

There was only one problem… the door was locked. Underneath the bridge, the troll growled and its strong, furry, black hands grasped the supports.

_BOOM. BOOM. BOOM. _

Arthur laid Lilli down on a moss covered boulder near the door and looked around for something to batter it open.

With a sudden leap the troll from the top of the keep swung down and landed in front of Arthur, growling gutturally. Arthur yelped and backed away in fear.

Lukas saw his predicament from the ground and called, "Use the wand on that troll!"

He struggled to pull it out of his bag, but Arthur soon had the wand in hand. Facing his biggest fear, he yelled, "_Locktwaar!" _

A bolt of blue light shot from the wand and hit the troll square in the chest. It doubled over and began screaming in pain. Green mist began rising from it's fur.

"He should have used _bellalockt,_" Lukas mumbed.

Arthur watched in horror as the troll was transformed into a hairless fleshy ball the size of a dragon's egg. Two reptilian heads poked their way through the membrane and hissed at him.

"Eugh!" With a powerful kick he sent the squalling… _thing_ off the bridge and it fell the fifty feet down into the dank pond below. The water began bubbling violently.

_BOOM!_

The doors broke.

Alfred quickly hid behind the barrel and waited for the first few men to come. For their part, all they saw was an overturned barrel and three crossbows propped atop it.

The water bubbled on.

The General was enraged. That worthless warrior had positioned the barrel close enough to the gate that he was able to keep picking off his men and stop them from advancing while avoiding their arrows and hiding behind the barrel.

After a few minutes Alfred ran out of crossbow bolts and unsheathed his sword. He stood and swung it in the air, hoping to intimidate them. Unbeknownst to him, a gigantic, two headed beast rose from the water behind him.

The Nockmaar soldiers froze at the sight of the monster. Many had heard of the eborsisk, a two headed water creature related to the hydra. One head spouted fire and the other had a poisonous bite. They retreated, gathering just outside the gatehouse.

Alfred grinned, thinking he himself had scared them all away. Then he heard the roar.

He turned around and looked up.

Without another thought he ran, following his enemies. One head of the eborsisk let out a burst of flame to hurry him along.

Alfred finally stopped once he was safe amidst the soldiers and they all looked at this new threat. He exchanged a disbelieving look with a Nockmaar soldier. With a sudden burst of realization, he looked to his right and found Natalia staring at him with an amused expression. Everyone else quickly realized just _who _was in their midst.

"Get him!"

He had no choice but to run back to the keep.

* * *

Arthur pressed himself against the wall in an attempt to keep the eborsisk from noticing him. Had he really made that?!

* * *

Alfred was everywhere and nowhere, leading men into bear traps, firing catapults, dodging arrows and the eborsisk's teeth and flames. The odds were against him and he loved it.

* * *

The fiery eborsisk head noticed Arthur. The Nelwyn grabbed Lilli and started running across the bridge, hoping to reach Alfred. The head's throat pouch bulged for a second before it spewed out fire all across the middle of the bridge. Arthur yelled and stumbled to a halt before turning tail to head back to the keep door.

Natalia inadvertently saved his life by firing an arrow just below the eborsisk's eye. Other archers followed and the beast was distracted. Rumbling deep in its throat, the poisonous head bent down and chomped down on a man, pulling him right off his horse. Almost politely, it held out his flailing lower half to the fiery head and they shared their first prey. More arrows were fired, but they only agitated the eborsisk and stuck to it's tough hide like toothpicks.

* * *

"Destroy the beast! Find the baby!" The General yelled. He ignored the wild chase Alfred was leading his men on and scanned the area with keen eyes.

* * *

Lukas was enjoying himself immensely. He'd made it his personal mission to headbutt as many soldiers off the walls as possible and he was doing it with right goodwill.

* * *

Arthur hide Lilli in the same spot as before, wondering how she was staying so calm when he himself was internally panicking.

The troll from under the bridge sprang up behind him, clubbing the back of his head. Arthur stumbled forward and instinctively grabbed a fire arrow that had landed in the railing. He swung the arrow at the troll and it backed away, displaying the inherent fear most animals have towards fire.

* * *

The main doors to the keep were closed securely, so the Nockmaar soldiers tried one of the side doors. The door opened without effort, but they set off Alfred's trap in the process. Two crossbows fired simultaneously, killing the first two men.

Alfred meanwhile jumped out of a pile of musty hay and brandished a pair of crossbows. He scared a group of men and shot at them before disappearing again.

* * *

Despite it's aversion to heat, the troll managed to drive Arthur back towards the fire. Suddenly remember the magic acorns, he scrambled in his pouch for one. He fumbled with it though and it slipped from his hands. As it hit the wooden beam beneath his feet it turned the wood to stone.

Lilli, suddenly bereft of her guardian, began crying. The troll heard and spun around, exposing it's back to Arthur. Taking the chance Arthur stabbed it in the back and it screamed in pain. They ended up grappling for a few moments before the boards beneath them suddenly gave way and they fell. The troll grabbed the nearest board and Arthur clung to the trolls leg, forcing them to both dangle above a frightening drop.

Arthur saw a supporting beam just a foot away from him. gathering his courage he let go of the troll's foot and grabbed for it wildly. One hand managed to grab it and he quickly clung to the beam for dear life.

The eborsisk noticed the still dangling troll and snatched it up, once again sharing the meal between the two heads.

The Nelwyn stayed where he was, quivering, hoping that it wouldn't notice it. More arrows drew it's attention to the ground and he swiftly pulled himself back up onto the bridge. He checked on Lilli, she smiled at him and he grinned wearily back.

* * *

Natalia watched the lone warrior closely. Alfred had used up all his crossbows and was now proving his prowess with the sword.

She honestly didn't know what to think. Her head told her she shouldn't believe a word the man said but something deep inside her whispered that she was fighting for the wrong cause. She'd found inconsistencies with what her brother had told her and his actions in her quest yo gain his attention. What was she supposed to think?!

* * *

Alfred climbed to the wall top, kicking a pursuer down the stairs. He scanned the scene. The eborsisk, while still a risk, had done a great job of causing confusion and spreading the General's army thin. If he could find Arthur, they might be able to escape in the confu-

"ARTHUR!" he yelled, suddenly catching sight of him. The Nelwyn was trying to break the door down, but what Alfred could see and Arthur couldn't was a third troll crawling down the wall towards him. The bridge was almost completely destroyed by the fire so the Daikini couldn't get to him that way. An empty catapult caught Alfred's eye… He had an idea.

* * *

The troll leapt on top of Arthur without warning. Dazed, Arthur barely had the wits to protect his face from its sharp claws.

* * *

Natalia didn't know _what _to think when she saw Alfred climb into the basket of the catapult.

* * *

Fighting off men with two swords, Alfred cut the rope holding the catapult in place.

* * *

"ARTHUUUUUUR!"

The eborsisk heads watched with curiosity as a man flew over them.

* * *

All Arthur heard was the sound of metal crashing against stone and a small grunt before powerful hands pulled the troll off of him and flung it away in the eborsisk's direction.

Alfred grinned down at him and pulled him to his feet.

"Here," he said, handing Arthur one of his swords.

_How on earth…? _

The fire breathing eborsisk head (which Alfred had dubbed Sparky) swung its giant head around and growled at him.

Letting out an exasperated puff of air, Alfred decided to finish the stupid thing off. He let loose a war whoop and jumped off the bridge and onto the top of it's head. However, he soon regretted this as it began shaking its head wildly.

* * *

Two soldiers had actually managed to enter the keep while avoiding all the traps (they'd stuck to the back the whole time) and opened the door Arthur had been trying to enter from the inside. The Daikini nearest the door saw Lilli and shouted, "The baby!" in amazement, ignoring the Nelwyn.

Neither man was prepared for Arthur's furious charge. The first Daikini let out a low groan as Arthur's sword pierced his torso and he slumped against the wall. Arthur and the other soldier both ended up tumbling down the stairs in the confusion. Arthur broke his pride in the fall. The soldier broke his neck.

Arthur was almost sure he hadn't broken any bones when a boot slammed down next to his face and cold laughter echoed up the stairs. Looking up, Arthur gasped and shrank back, his eyes fixed on the skull shaped helmet.

* * *

Somehow Alfred had managed to cling to Sparky's head long enough to pull out his sword. Silently apologizing to Sparky (This thing was really cool!) he plunged the blade deep into its skull, through the brain, until the tip poked through the chin. It screamed and bucked, finally throwing Alfred off.

* * *

Natalia saw him hit the ground and rushed forward, her sword drawn. Before Alfred could move she jabbed it towards his throat, letting it hover inches from his skin. He watched her warily, his chest rising and falling as he tried to catch his breath.

That indefinable moment passed between them again.

She grabbed him by the front of his armor, pulling him to his feet. With another jerk, she crashed her lips into his.

It was crazy. It was stupid. It was going against her brother. But something deep inside her told her it was _right_.

* * *

As he kissed her back fervently, Alfred vaguely realized that the blissful euphoria was back. This time, though, it was _real_.

Then Sparky's head exploded.

Unable to live on it's own, the poisonous head let out a shriek and fell to the earth. The eborsisk was dead.

Alfred and Natalia separated with a jerk.

"Aw, I'll miss him," Alfred whined. Natalia lightly batted his shoulder.

"Matthias' army! Get the general!" one of the Nockmaar soldiers shouted, pointing towards the broken gate. In the distance but approaching quickly was Matthias and the hundred men he still had.

* * *

Unnoticed, two tiny heads popped out of Matthias' saddlebag.

"Ve are here!" Roderich yelled.

Gilbert whooped excitedly, "You are rescued! CHARGE!"

* * *

The General ran out of the keep and mounted his horse, holding a tiny, crying bundle with one arm. He watched impassively as the rebel and his captain fought back to back, fighting the few soldiers he had left. Gathering all the able men he had left, there were only ten, he led the charge out of the gate.

"No mercy!" he roared, heading straight for the opposing army. He dodged Matthias' horse then left a path of bodies and riderless horses as he broke through Matthias' men, leaving his own to be cut down.

* * *

Arthur woke with a painful head wound. He was dizzy, frightened, and bereft. Tottering out of the keep, he kept yelling, "Lilli! Lilli!" Another wave of giddiness hit him and he felt to his knees, sobbing.

Natalia noticed him first, she shook Alfred's shoulder urgently and pointed to his friend. Alfred's eyes widened when he saw his companion crumpled over. "Arthur!" he yelled, sprinting over to him with Natalia hot on his heels.

"Lilli's gone!" Arthur wailed. The two Daikinis knelt next to him and Alfred helped him up while Natalia grabbed a fresh cloth and her waterskin to clean the wound. "They've taken her. He- I couldn't-" He'd failed. Again.

"Arthur, can you ride?"

Arthur looked up. Alfred's eyes shone with determination. Hesitantly Arthur nodded.

"Then let's ride."

* * *

***flops to the ground* Again with long action sequences... **

**And yeah, Alfred and Natalia fell into the I-love-you-even-though-we-barely-know-each-other cliche. XP I feel like if the movie had been longer, or Sorsha and Madmartigan had interacted more, that it would have been more believable. I mean, c'mon! Madmartigan was under the influence when they first kissed-  
**

**Monty: *pulls soapbox out from under her and watches as she falls to the ground* **


	15. The Metamorphosis

**Also Titled: Bacon and Eggheads **

* * *

A lone figure on a dark horse rode up to the black castle of Nockmaar. He barely had to guide his steed, so used was it to this path. In the crook of one arm lay a small, crying babe. The sentries saw him coming and quickly lowered the drawbridge.

"I have the child!" he yelled as he entered the courtyard. The drawbridge was raised again almost as soon as the horse was inside, for not far behind him two other horses were approaching.

Alfred and Natalia had ridden for a day and a night, pushing their mounts as far as was safe, in an effort to stop the General from reaching Nockmaar. The pulled their mounts to a stop about a hundred yards from the castle when they saw the drawbridge close. They were too late. Natalia eyed her home nervously, noting that there were more soldiers than usual on the walls. Alfred let out a yell of frustration, angry at being foiled. Half a day behind them Matthias and Arthur were traveling with their army and anyone who'd wanted to join the fight against the witch king.

* * *

The General knelt and held out Lilli for Ivan's inspection. The king leaned over and peered at the babe, still baffled as to how this tiny thing could be his downfall. Lilli looked back at him, to tired or perhaps to scared to cry anymore. A satisfied smile curled around Ivan's lips. "Where's Natalia?" he asked absentmindedly.

The General looked uncomfortable, hating to be the bearer of bad news. "She has turned against us, Your Highness."

Behind him, Ivan's mages exchanged glances but did nothing else.

A look of utter shock and disbelief crossed Ivan's face. The bitter feeling of betrayal soon turned to anger and he hissed between clenched teeth, "Turned… against _me_?"

Lilli began crying again.

Maddened, Ivan spun around, his dark cloak whipping out behind him. "Prepare for the ritual!" he bellowed. His mages bowed and hurried to grab the baby and head for the tower. The process of utterly destroying the child was complicated. It would take the rest of the day to prepare and even after that it would take a full night to perform the ritual properly.

* * *

The sentries on the walls watched with disinterest when the army showed up hours later. They served a man stronger than all of them.

Matthias and Alfred whispered together as they looked at the castle, beckoning Natalia over after a while. The two men had pushed aside their rocky past for now.

Alfred looked over the fortress and cursed. This castle was even bigger than Tir Asleen, and better fortified. One tower in the middle rose up above the rest, almost twice as high. Finally, Matthias ordered, "We need towers and a battering ram! Break out the tents! Make camp!" In a quieter voice he told Alfred, "We'll assault at first light."

* * *

Hours of pacing in his room had done little to help Ivan's temper. Unable to stand it any longer, he traveled to the battlements just as the sun disappeared to look down at the army that planned to "seige" him. His mages followed him, to help assist him in any way if needed. Ivan sneered at the sight below him. A couple hundred tents were spread out in the plains before the castle, and scattered campfires winked up at him. It was pitiful really. There weren't enough men to make proper regiments, let alone an army!

He began laughing loudly and used his magic to amplify his voice. Matthias' men left their tents and looked around quickly at the sound of the king's laughter. Lukas, who had been dosing by a campfire, came awake at once. He'd heard that laugh before and he could guess what it meant. He needed to find Arthur.

"This is not an army!" Ivan chortled.

Arthur huffed as Lukas butted him gently (for a goat). "Quick, hide!" He butted him again towards a tent.

"Alright, keep your horns on."

"Do you remember the shelter chant spell taught you?" Lukas asked once they were inside the closest tent.

"Y-yes, why-"

"Protect this tent! Now!"

Alfred, meanwhile, grabbed a torch and went to confront Ivan. Natalia took a deep breath and followed him.

"We've come for Lilli Zwingli!" Alfred shouted.

"You dare to challenge me?" Ivan replied, leaning his elbows against the wall top. "You're not warriors!" A cruel smile flitted across Ivan's face as a wicked idea came to him. "You're pigs!"

Alfred suddenly let out a sharp groan as a gut twisting pain ripped through his torso. He fell to one knee, clutching at his stomach.

"_Toa thonna mondarr! Nocklith! Vohkbar!" _

A squealing yell came from Alfred's throat as his teeth became brutishly big. His hands felt as if they were on fire, changing from digits to hooves. Matthias watched in horror as his friend continued to transform, the men behind him panicking. Natalia looked up and glared at her brother, ashamed he would use such a dirty trick.

"You're all pigs! Pigs!" Ivan yelled, reaching out and grabbing the air as if he was grabbing their humanity. As one everyone else but Natalia doubled over in pain, even the brownies.

In the tent, Arthur waved Elizaveta's wand above his head and chanted, "_Avaggdu luatha bairn off haefermore," _over and over. He was so focused that he didn't hear the cries of pain or the squeals coming from outside. Lukas hung his head, angry at not being able to do more.

Alfred's transformation was nearly complete. In agony he yelled out, "Natalia!" before he lost his speech altogether.

The cry snapped Natalia out of her trance. "Brother, no! Stop this!"

Ivan looked down at her for a few seconds before reaching out again and yelling, "_Kothon!" _

Natalia groaned as the pain finally hit her too. As she fell to the ground all she could see were pigs or men in the process of being turned into pigs. The pain took over and she didn't have another coherent thought.

* * *

Up in the tower two mages bound Lilli with leather straps to keep her from moving during the ritual. In the center of the room a stone table rested, sloping inwards slightly to form a shallow basin. The men flinched as the doors opened and Ivan rushed in.

"Begin the ritual. This baby will not destroy me."

The mages nodded and one left to light the first candle.

Thunder rumbled above them and Ivan looked up with pleasure at the circular hole in the roof. Reaching out a hand he yelled, "_Come, thunder!_" Thunder boomed again, scaring Lilli and making her cry again. "_Come, lightning! Touch this altar with your powers._" A bolt of lightning hit the table, miraculously not shattering it into pieces.

One mage picked up Lilli and set her on the altar once it stopped crackling and the third banged the ritualistic gong.

* * *

Arthur stood in front of the tent, completely and utterly shellshocked; the only sentient being in a sea of pigs. "How did…" he whispered. Looking down at his feet he saw two tiny piglets whom he could only assume were Roderich and Gilbert.

He ran back into the tent and yelled, pulling at his hair. "We've come all this way and now Lilli's going to die!"

The goat butted him gently ( this time by Nelwyn standards). "We can still defeat Ivan."

"He's too powerful, Lukas!" Even if he studied for half a year Arthur was sure he wouldn't have the strength to turn everyone back into their true form, let alone beat Ivan.

"Transform me and I will destroy him," Lukas promised.

Arthur looked down at the wand in his hand, unsure. He'd failed twice already, and the new spell Lukas had taught him was the most complicated of all. The thought of Lilli dead flashed through his mind and hardened his resolve. He would not let her die!

The Nelwyn stood and Lukas backed up a bit to give him room.

"_Elements of eternity, above and below. Balance of essence, fire beget snow." _

He closed his eyes once the wand began to glow, feeling the now familiar rush of pain.

"_Locktwarr danalora luatha danu. Tuatha, tuatha, chnox danu." _ He repeated the chant again, trying to stay focused but struggling. The pain!

Lukas yelped as he was changed from a goat to an ostrich. Arthur opened his eyes and panicked, stumbling over the words. All of a sudden peacock feathers grew! Arthur closed his eyes again and repeated the chant.

"Arthur!" Lukas yelled, his voice growing tiny as he shrank into a turtle.

Blisters were forming on Arthur's hands and sweat covered every inch of him. Only the thought of rescuing his tiny charge kept him going.

"_Locktwarr danalora luatha danu. Tuatha… tuatha… chnox danu." _

Lukas suddenly grew again, only to turn into a gust of wind and then a tiger.

"_Locktwarr danalora, luatha danu. Tuath-, tuatha, chnox… danu!" _

Unable to bear it, Arthur released the wand and felt on his hands and knees. Shaking all over he looked up to see what he'd created.

The Daikini laying on the ground was a young man, slender in body with pale blonde hair that had a single curl. The man uncurled himself and slowly sat up. He inspected his hands with dull blue eyes, noticing how much bigger they were than when he'd last seen them.

"Lukas…" Arthur whispered, unable to believe he'd actually done it.

The man looked up and him and actually smiled. Arthur hurried to grab a blanket to cover his naked form while Lukas kept looking over his body. "Has it been so long?" he murmured, trying not to mourn for the childhood that was stolen from him. Ivan had only been a prince, he remembered, when he'd transformed Lukas in a fit of jealousy.

"I'm sorry," Arthur said.

Lukas shook his head and stood, wrapping the blanket around his waist. "We have work to do. Give me the wand." Arthur did so. He waved towards the tent flap. "Bring them in."

Arthur herded the closest pig into the tent and stood back while Lukas chanted.

"_Tuatha grin chnox y foel famau."_

* * *

**It's a squirrel! It's a goat! No, it's Norway! XD Yay, Lukas is in his true form! **

**Also, I decided to post this chapter early since I'm going to be in Utah all this week. Happy early Thanksgiving, guys! **


	16. The Gambit

**The Beginning of The End**

* * *

Lilli whimpered as Ivan hovered over her, a knife in one hand. He lowered the blade, cutting off a lock of her silky blonde hair while chanting softly.

"_Black fires forever kindled within, let the second rite begin." _

A mage approached, holding a bowl filled with a mysterious red liquid. Ivan delicately dropped the lock of hair into the bowl, watching it hiss and dissolve into the fluid. The mage poured the bowl's contents into a larger vat of the same ungodly stuff. Unspeakable things had be done to get the ingredients for this, the catalyst that would connect the living with the netherworld.

* * *

Arthur sighed as the last pig was finally herded into the tent. He assumed it had to be Matthias seeing as none of the other pigs had been him. Lukas nodded to him in thanks and began chanting. Exhausted from transforming Lukas into a human again and finding all the pigs, he lay down on a pile of furs. He tried to stay awake, he really did, but he couldn't stop his fatigue and he drifted off.

Lukas' spell was much gentler than Ivan's had been, and the first thing Matthias felt was relief at being in his true form again. He shuddered as a robe was flung over his shoulders, the thick weight seemingly titanic to his shocked limbs.

"Idiot, figures you'd be the last one. Arthur had to stop you from leaving the camp, you know," a voice in front of him said. He vaguely recognized it as the talking goat the peck had brought along.

Blinking rapidly, Matthias looked up and tried to clear his watering eyes. Instead of seeing a goat he saw-

He gasped and scooted back, afraid of this phantom.

Lukas had cast aside the blanket Arthur gave him and put on simple white robes when there had been a pause between transformations. He grinned slightly at Matthias' extreme reaction. "Stupid brother."

"L-Lukas…?"

The wizard tilted his head, the lamplight falling on his strange curl.

"Lukas!"

With the force of a bear Matthias launched himself at the younger man, glomping and tackling him at the same time while speaking as rapidly as possible. "Ican'tbelieveit'sreallyyoulittlebro! Whathappened? Wethoughtyou'dbeenkilledorrunofforbeentakenbygiants-"

"Shut up!" Lukas shoved him away, if only to get some breathing room. "I was turned into a squirrel by Ivan."

Matthias blinked again and wiped at the tears running down his cheeks. "A squirrel?"

* * *

"That won't reach the wall," Alfred argued, putting the kibosh on another wild plan. It had been several hours since the pig incident and no one had thought up a plan to storm the castle.

Ivan had given orders that the wall sentries be given the night off in celebration of his victory (much to the General's displeasure) so no one from Nockmaar noticed the small, lighted tent amid the "deserted" camp where the leaders had gathered to strategize.

"We can't get inside," Matthias sighed, scooting closer to his long lost brother. Lukas in turn scooted away and pursed his lips.

Natalia nearly shouted, "Lilli will die unless we save her!" Alfred placed a hand on her shoulder and felt the knotted muscles there. He empathized with her frustration at not being able to find a solution.

"Ivan's too powerful," a captain grunted. Several other men murmured in agreement.

The wizard shook his head and explained (for the third frickin' time), "He cannot transform you again, my spell is protecting this camp."

Alfred's eyes lit up suddenly. "Can your magic get us inside the fortress?"

Lukas slumped slightly. While he knew he could overpower Ivan with Elizaveta's wand, he could not break the spells that guarded the castle itself. Over the generations the best mages of Nockmaar had added their power to protect the capital, and it went so far back that Lukas could sense some Old Majyk in the shields. He shook his head.

"We can't do it then," Matthias said.

"Wait!"

Arthur gulped as everyone in the tent turned to look at him. He was tempted to back down, but something inside wouldn't let him. "What if we got them to open the gates for us?" he asked.

Natalia immediately countered, "Ivan would never do such a thing."

"I know, but back home in my village we have a lot of gophers-"

"Arthur," Alfred sighed. "This is war, not agriculture."

Arthur glared at him. " I know, I'll explain if you stop interrupting!"

* * *

"_Ocht veth bordak stira, ocht veth bordak stira, ocht veth bordak stira!"_

Ivan dipped his hands into the red liquid and held them up to the hole in the roof. Thunder rumbled all around the tower. The liquid rolled down down his palms and onto his black cloak.

As lightning hit the grate that covered the roof opening, Ivan began to chuckle. They were halfway through.

* * *

Matthias scoffed. "Alfred, you and I are soldiers. You know the peck's plan will never work."

Lukas flicked him. "I told you not to call him that." He looked at Alfred, who was studying the plan Arthur had drawn in the dirt. "If the baby dies, all hope for the future is lost. I'm going to fight."

Arthur stood. "Me too." Natalia and the brownies stood as well, nodding. The captains whispered among themselves. They didn't trust the Nelwyn, the wizard, or the former Nockmaar captain. Their own leader had said it the plan wouldn't work.

Alfred had said nothing the whole time Arthur had laid out the scheme. It was crazy, to be honest. And yet it was also brilliant. "Well, it's time to decide who's gonna go and who's gonna stay then," he said, grabbing Natalia's hand and silently siding with Arthur in the process.

Everyone looked to Matthias, knowing his word would be the deciding one. Matthias looked down at the hastily drawn plan, then at the pe- Nelwyn, Alfred, and finally Lukas in turn.

Taking a deep breath, he decided.

* * *

A red dawn bathed the early morning sky with warpaint, foreshadowing an important day. The sentries for the day took up positions, all the better for their rest. They grinned and chuckled among themselves as they looked down at the desolate camp. The tents had all been flattened and trampled on the ground, the pigs had all fled, and burnt out campfires littered the area. Here and there lay barrels and bits of clothing. Amid the wreckage only two people remained.

Lukas and Arthur looked up at the giant black gate. Elizaveta's wand was hidden in the folds of Lukas' cloak while Alfred held a long pole in one hand. Neither spoke for a moment, but Lukas broke the silence by saying, almost conversationally, "I have waited many years to face Ivan again. You made this possible. Whatever happens today, I will always admire your courage."

Arthur blushed and looked down at the ground. To be honest, he'd survived the whole journey by the skin of his teeth, and now this sorcerer was saying he was someone to be admired? He rubbed his hand along the braid of hair Francine have given him. It felt like an age had passed since he'd seen her and the children.

There was some sort of bustle on the battlements among the sentries. They parted ways to make room for the General, who was hooded as usual by his mask, as he looked down at the lone figures.

"We call upon you to surrender! Give us the baby or we will destroy you." Lukas shouted.

The General just laughed, a manic light shining from his green eyes. "Kill them," he ordered.

Not two minutes later the drawbridge began to lower. Arthur glanced nervously at Lukas, who looked ahead with calm determination. A group of five soldiers rode out, yelling and laughing.

Lukas grabbed Arthur's elbow when he saw him start to raise the staff. "Wait, patience,"

Arthur nodded nervously and waited. As soon as the last horse had ridden past the first row of flattened tents he made his move. Spinning around, he began banging on a small drum hidden behind him.

That was the signal.

The tents sprang to life as Matthias' army seemingly popped out of the very ground. Under the cover of night they had dug holes big enough for ten horses to fit and covered them with the tents, concealing themselves from sight (the brownies had opted to hide in an empty helmet and they now presented themselves with a dramatic flourish). The Nockmaar soldiers slowed and began to turn as hundreds of men suddenly popped out of nowhere. It was too late, half the men were already behind them, entering the castle and blocking off their exit with Alfred in the lead.

The General yelled in frustration and pounded the wall when he saw the enemy enter the courtyard. "Sound the alarm, attack!" he snapped out, drawing his own sword.

* * *

Oblivious to anything outside the room, Ivan continued the ritual. The storm had blown itself over by daybreak, but even now he was brewing another one to complete the spell.

"_Ocht veth nockthirth bordak! Exile the child to the thirteenth night" _

A light rain began, sprinkling on Ivan and the altar. Lilli began to cry again as the rain hit her unprotected face.

* * *

Natalia quickly dismounted once she was inside. All around her the two armies were fighting. Thanks to their surprise the Nockmaar troops seemed to be having the worse time of it. She found Lukas and Arthur and pointed to the tallest tower. "This way!" The small team started up the stairs that would lead into the tower where Lilli was.

Matthias yelled up to his brother, "Be careful! I don't want to lose you again, little brother."

"Don't get killed, idiot," Lukas ordered.

* * *

Alfred was an unstoppable force.

As two men charged him he kicked one away and swung his sword at the other's gut, feeling it cut through the man's armor. He finished off the other man with a stab to the throat. He had just enough time to wipe rainwater from his eyes before he was attacked again.

* * *

Two of Matthias' men rushed the General, but the first died at the end of his sword. His ironclad fist collided with the second and sent him reeling. Another man on horseback charged him but he sidestepped the horse and pulled the rider off, smashing him against the stone wall.

The General was an unstoppable force.

* * *

The Nockmaar soldiers were starting to regroup. Teams of archers littered the walls, taking down the attacking men with precision. Matthias ran up the wall steps to take them out when he saw a man getting ready to pour a vat of boiling oil on some of his horsemen riding by. Sneaking up behind him he slashed the man's throat with his knife and grabbed the rope.

He waited until his men had passed and a group of black-armored soldiers men were directly underneath before he pulled on the rope with a war whoop.

* * *

Now inside the tower, the three rescuers quietly crept up the spiral staircase. Natalia led the way and Lukas guarded the back, leaving Arthur in the middle. He hugged the center pillar and tried not to look down, they seemed to be almost at the top. He shivered when a booming voice reached him from just above.

"_Nockthirth plankton firth foreth forewar!" _

Now they could all see a wooden door ahead of them. The doorposts were lined with human skulls. Natalia felt sick to her stomach. She'd never actually been inside the tower, staying away as per Ivan's instructions, and the smell of something vile hit her nose. Arthur for his part felt his heart break at the sound of Lilli's wails over the crash of thunder.

"_Ocht veth nock! Light the thirteenth candle!" _

Wordlessly, Natalia and Luksa took the lead, approaching the door while Arthur hung back. His part in the quest was over, right? Lukas slammed the door open, creating a gust of wind that blew out half of the candles in the room.

Ivan looked up in annoyance, only to smile wryly. "Bondevik."

Natalia pushed past the wizard and yelled, "Brother!" The siblings faced each other, a mess of words and deeds and emotions blocking anything else she might have said.

"Traitor," Ivan spat. "I must despise you now."

"Despise me?!" she snapped back, suddenly finding her voice. "Kat is dead because of you! She starved because of you! And our people-! How could you do this?!"

Ivan nodded to his mages. The men pulled out curved swords and rushed towards Natalia. She wasn't a captain for nothing though; she parried one man's attacks and used her knife to stab another. A high kick sent the first tumbling back, unconscious. The third snuck up on her left and swung only to be stabbed in the chest. Natalia paced back towards Ivan.

"I won't let you kill that girl," she swore.

Ivan waved his hand at her dismissively. "_Avaggdu strokt." _

Natalia screamed as she was lifted up into the air, helpless. She was turned around by invisible hands until she faced the far wall… the one embedded with metal spikes. She whimpered as the force pushed her towards the wall faster and faster. Holding out her hands, she tried to stop herself from being impaled but-

Lukas held out the wand and she came to a halt inches from the spikes. Ivan looked at his foe for a moment, confused, before shrugging and slamming his hand down on the table. Likewise, Natalia crashed to the floor with enough strength to knock her out.

"It would seem you've gotten stronger, yes?" Ivan asked pleasantly, securing his favorite scarf about his neck better.

Smirking just the tiniest bit, Lukas said, "I have Elizaveta's wand, Ivan."

The faerie queen's wand! Well, that would explain it. Ivan's eyes narrowed as he tried to think of a way to get it from his rival.

* * *

Grunting, Gilbert and Roderich slowly pushed down the lever of the strange contraption they'd found inside the courtyard. It clicked into place suddenly and ten spears were flung into the air, hitting a group of Nockmaar men. They whooped and went to find more war machines to set off.

* * *

The General kept cutting down all those in his path as he made for the snake's head, AKA Matthias. Matthias saw him coming and quickly raised his shield to block the first blow. The two generals sized each other up for a moment before attacking again.

* * *

"_Furrochk flarem!" _Ivan shouted.

Arthur screamed from his place by the door as Lukas was suddenly engulfed in flames. His terror was short lived, a blue glow smothered the flames, revealing and unharmed Lukas. He pointed the wand at Ivan and a bolt of snow and ice cocooned the giant king until he seemed to be just a statue. There was a moment of calm before the ice exploded from him, sending deadly bits of shrapnel everywhere.

Lukas fell to the ground and the wand fell out of his hand. Dislodged by the ice, a stone column fell on top of his legs, making him yell out as the bones in his left leg broke. He heard Ivan's footsteps and reached out for the wand desperately, chanting, "_Claideb cla- clai main!" _The wand shot into his hand and he pointed it at the witch king. "_Lunano ockht!" _

Ivan grunted as he was the one lifted up this time. He crashed into the roof with a sickening crack.

"_Bachktu inno!" _

WHAM! He crashed into the ceiling. Lukas enjoyed himself for a half a minute, waving the wand around and making him spin, crash, and smash into objects.

"_Wanu!" _

With a groan Ivan was finally dropped onto the floor. He lay there, dead or unconscious.

Gritting his teeth, Lukas slid out from under the rubble and poked the wand against his broken leg. There was a flash of light as the bones knitted together instantaneously. He laughed and stood up, wiping his now sopping hair out of his face and looking up at the ceiling. Ivan stirred a bit, drawing Lukas' attention again. He approached the man cautiously, but it seemed that he was still out cold.

Just as Lukas was about to poke him to see if he was awake, Ivan struck. As quick as a snake he grabbed at Lukas' wrist. Lukas yelled and dropped the wand.

What came next could best be described as… a catfight. Both sorcerers were hitting, scratching, and grabbing as the wand, yelling indistinct phrases. Bolts of energy escaped the wand and destroyed chunks of the wall. Neither noticed the small figure slip in and head towards the altar.

* * *

Matthias groaned as he was thrown against a wall by the General. He was being beaten, badly. The General backhanded him, making him fall and roll for a few feet.

He got to his feet and pulled out his boot knife, hoping to catch him by surprise. But then, as if he knew Matthias' thoughts, the General grabbed his hand and knife in his own hand, practically crushing them.

"Predictable," the man snorted. "You always did rely too much on that stupid thing."

Matthias' eyes widen in shock. He recognised that voice. But no, it was impossible, he-

Taking advantage of his distraction, the General plunged Mathias' own dagger into his chest, cutting through the links in his chainmail. Matthias let out a wheezing gasp. "H-how could you…?" He spat into the man's face even though it only hit his helmet, and all he got for it was the knife being thrust ever deeper into his chest to prick his heart.

With a final contemptuous glance the General kicked Matthias away and left him lying in the mud.

He lay there for a few seconds, feeling the blood leave his body, when a pair of arms lifted him up.

"Matthias!"

He cracked open an eye. Alfred's worried faced was blurred and distorted. "Matthias!"

"Win this war for me…" he mumbled, trying to grin. A numbness overcame him, starting at his chest and spreading fast. With literally no more strength left, his head flopped back. The last thing he saw with his mortal eyes was a break in the clouds and the sun shining through. _Sorry… Lukas..._

"Hey, c'mon, don't talk like that, Matt. ...Matthias? MATTHIAS!"

* * *

***retreats back to the pillow fort* Before you kill me, let me just say that this was as hard for me to write as it was for you to read. **

**Also, I will allow you to guess who the General is in the comments for this one chapter since y'all have been so courteous and thoughtful about the particular point. Go ahead, I won't get mad. Honestly, I want to know who you think he is. **

_Themusicalcat here, present and dying! Denny… Rest in peace. As usual, barely any editing to do on my part. Really, what do I get paid for, Viva? Hypothetically speaking, of course, since I don't. Since she's an awesome writer, give her all of your love!... I mean, review. And guess who the General is. _

**Who do **_**you **_**think it is? **

_Who, me?_

**Of course. **

_I don't know! I feel like it would be really feelsy if it was Sweden, though. I mean, they kind of hate each other, but they're still like family. But it's not Svi, is it?_

**Mmm, nope. (Is it okay for me to give away hints like this?) **

_I think this'll just make the readers more antsy about finding out who it is. That's the effect it's having on me, anyway!_

**XD Stop dawdling! Who do you think it is?**

_I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess Prussia. Because he is awesome. 'Nuff said._

**Gilbert is already a brownie…**

_I know. XD *trolling* In all seriousness this time, I think it might be Germany. Unless he already had a minor role that I forgot._

**...Welp, okay then. XD What are your guesses, awesome readers? **


End file.
